Am i at higher risk to have a heart attack?

You are at a significantly higher risk of heart attack and stroke due to Lupus. My wife had eight heart attacks last year at the age of 29. She has Systemic Lupus and no other risk factors of heart disease...no family history and no environmental factors such as smoking or obesity. Lupus is a Systemic disease that can attack all organs of the body usually in this order of prominance: skin, kidney, heart, lungs, brain, liver... Best way to prevent this is to make sure to keep up on your medications and have regular doctors visits. Also make sure to cut down on any environmental factors you may have such as smoking, obesity, poor diet..etc... Good Luck.

risk factors that can't be changed Increasing age Male sex (gender) Heredity (including Race) major risk factors you can modify, treat or control by changing your lifestyle or taking medicine Tobacco smoke High blood cholesterol High blood pressure Physical inactivity Obesity and overweight Diabetes mellitus http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=4726 The heart and lungs are frequently affected in people with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). Complications in these organs can cause a variety of problems, ranging from mild to serious or even life-threatening Some problems that can occur in SLE are: Pericarditis: inflammation of the lining of the heart Myocarditis: inflammation of the tissue of the heart Coronary vasculitis: inflammation of blood vessels in the heart Pleuritis: inflammation of the sac around the lung Pneumonitis: inflammation of the lung Pulmonary emboli: blood clots in the lung http://www.lupus.org/webmodules/webarticlesnet/templates/new_aboutaffects.aspx?articleid=291&zoneid=17

Heart disease is very hard to predict. There's no clear answer to your question, but yes family history is a big indicator. Other clues could be high cholesterol, obesity, congenital heart deformities, irregular rhythm, murmurs, etc. Be sure to talk to your doctor about your family history and any other risk factors you may have. There are tests they can do to check you heart function.