Cardiac involvement in Wegener's granulomatosis: Report of four cases and review of the literature

Introduction. - Discordance exists between the results of post-mortem studies and the low number of clinical reported cases of cardiac involvements in Wegener's granulomatosis. Case reports. - Data from four patients were studied retrospectively. Three patients had associated airway localization and three had kidney involvement. All patients had positive test for anti-PR3 antineutrophil antibodies. Two patients presented with dilated cardiomyopathy (one with terminal cardiac failure), another patient with complete atrioventricular block and pericarditis, and the remaining one with myopericarditis. One patient was asymptomatic. For three of these patients, the cardiac manifestations were contemporary of the diagnosis of Wegener's granulomatosis and had a severe disease course. Conclusion. - Cardiac events in Wegener's granulomatosis are probably underestimated, given the various type of heart damage and the clinical presentation. Cardiac involvement seems to be associated with a poor prognosis. Thus, we recommend systematic and regular cardiac assessment in the follow-up of patients with Wegener's granulomatosis. (C) 2009 Societe nationale francaise de medecine interne (SNFMI). Published by Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.