Aortoarteritis and cardiomyopathy. A heretofore undescribed association.

An interesting association between aortoarteritis syndrome (Takayasu's arteriopathy) and congestive cardiomyopathy has been described for the first time. The severe congestive heart failure in 3 out of 4 cases reported here was not associated with hypertension. Morphologic features of the heart in all cases were characteristic of congestive cardiomyopathy, while in the aorta and its branches, anatomical changes were those of aortoarteritis. An etiopathogenic relationship between the 2 conditions is likely to be present in these cases.