AIDS and the heart: Review and consideration of pathogenetic mechanisms.

Many of the diverse pathologic manifestations of heart disease in acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) may relate ultimately to immune dysfunction and opportunistic infection, but other important changes occur, including myocarditis and cardiomyopathy, which may have less clear pathogeneses. We review findings from our AIDS autopsy series and comment on the findings and thoughts of others studying pathologic changes in the heart in AIDS.