HLA-B27-associated heart disease. Clinicopathologic study of three cases.

The histologic features of the cardiac lesions in HLA-B27-associated heart disease were examined in three cases that illustrate different nuances of the clinical spectrum of this disorder. One of these cases constitutes an important link between the previously established concept of cardiac manifestations in ankylosing spondylitis and Reiter's disease and the recently introduced, wider concept of HLA-B27-associated cardiac manifestations. A correlation between the invasive electrophysiologic results and the autopsy findings is demonstrated in another case.