Table 1 Characteristics of the study population.
| Age in years, mean (SD) | 46.4 (12.7) |
| Disease duration in years, mean (SD) | 14.3 (9.0) |
| Systemic Lupus Erythematosus Disease Activity Index, mean (SD) | 5.8 (9.0) |
| Smokers (current and previous) | 24 (48) |
| Hypertension* | 12 (22) |
| Coronary heart disease† | 5 (9) |
| Miscarriage | 9 (16) |
| Venous thrombosis | 8 (14) |
| Livedo reticularis | 10 (18) |
| Glomerulonephritis | 10 (18) |
| Valvular heart disease | 2 (4) |
| Lung fibrosis | 2 (4) |
| Osteonecrosis | 2 (4) |
| Diabetes mellitus | 2 (4) |
| Microembolic signals | 5 (9) |
| Cerebral infarcts | 9 (18) |
| Medication for SLE (single drug or combination) | |
| No drugs | 11 (20) |
| Prednisolone | 33 (60) |
| Malaria drugs | 24 (44) |
| Azathioprine | 12 (22) |
| Cyclophosphamide | 2 (4) |
| Other medication | |
| Non‐steroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs | 8 (14) |
| Hormone replacement therapy | 5 (9) |
| Acetylsalicylic acid | 5 (9) |
| β blocker | 4 (7) |
| Warfarin | 4 (7) |
Data are n (%) unless otherwise stated.
*Hypertension is defined as being treated with an antihypertensive agent, or blood pressure >140/90 mm Hg at repeated measurements.
†Four patients had angina pectoris (one had undergone coronary bypass) and one had myocardial infarction.
SLE, systemic lupus erythematosus.