Pericarditis affected around 20% to 25% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and 30% to 50% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with recurrence rates of 20.3% in SLE patients after an initial episode.
Autoimmune pericarditis requires a tailored, disease-specific management approach integrating rheumatology and cardiology, with IL-1 targeted therapies offering a new avenue for refractory disease.
Initially recognized as a key cardiac feature of systemic lupus erythematosus and rheumatoid arthritis, autoimmune pericarditis has gained increasing attention given the recent advances in cardiac imaging, biomarker assessment, and understanding of immune-mediated mechanisms. The prevalence of pericardial involvement varies considerably among autoimmune diseases. Patients may have a small pericardial effusion that remains clinically silent but could also present with acute, recurrent, or chronic pericarditis. A minority develop severe complications such as tamponade or constrictive physiology. Characterizing autoimmune pericarditis is critical, particularly in an era of expanding immunomodulatory therapies. This review summarizes current knowledge on prevalence, pathophysiology, clinical presentation, and diagnostic strategies, with a particular focus on emerging therapeutics in pericardial disease associated with autoimmune disorders. Integrating rheumatology and cardiology expertise is essential to optimize the care of this heterogeneous patient population.
Fakikh et al. (Thu,) conducted a review in autoimmune pericarditis. Pericarditis affected around 20% to 25% of patients with systemic lupus erythematosus and 30% to 50% of patients with rheumatoid arthritis, with recurrence rates of 20.3% in SLE patients after an initial episode.