Myocarditis and cardiomyopathy HIV associated.

Heart muscle involvement associated with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection may present as myocarditis, dilated cardiomyopathy or as isolated left or right ventricular dysfunction. Histopathological and ultra structural findings with different degrees of cardiac-chamber dilation have been described and an important role of the cytokines tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), interleukin-1 (IL-1) and IL-6 has been suggested. We present a case of myocarditis in a 47-year-old woman with HIV associated cardiomyopathy, focussing attention on heart muscle involvement in HIV disease.