Libman-Sacks endocarditis in a Bangladeshi patient suffering from rhupus

Abstract

Libman-Sacks endocarditis (LSE) is one of the most characteristic cardiac lesions in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Patients may remain asymptomatic, while symptomatic patients often suffer with systemic emboli. These commonly test positive for anti-phospholipid antibody (aPA). The association of LSE with an overlap of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and lupus (also known as ‘rhupus’) is rare. We report such a patient, who had been diagnosed as having RA seven years before and had suffered an acute ischaemic stroke one year previously and had echocardiographic evidence of LSE found during routine evaluation. However, she tested negative for aPA.