Ischemia on the fingers of a 59 year old female patient with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). This is a condition caused by blocked blood vessels preventing blood and oxygen from reaching parts of the body. It can cause the fingers to become painfully cold, numb, and pale or blue in colour. Limb ischemia is a rare complication of systemic lupus erythematosus that requires immediate treatment to restore proper blood flow. This includes medications to reduce blood pressure, endovascular treatments to open blocked arteries or surgery to repair an artery. If not treated quickly, the lack of blood flow can lead to gangrene (tissue death). For an image of the finger affected by gangrene taken 3 weeks later see image C058/5446.