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Dennis K. Ledford, MD

JAMA. 1992;268(20):2923-2929.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

THE PRIMARY immunologic diseases of the blood vessels are termed vasculitis and of the heart, carditis. Histological characteristics of these disorders are deposition in the affected tissue of immunoglobulin and complement and/ or an inflammatory cellular infiltration without local infection, trauma, bland thrombosis, or foreign body. Proposed mechanisms of immune injury include tissue modification or immunologic exposure by previous infection or trauma resulting in an autoimmune process; immunologic response to unrelated antigens cross-reacting with vascular or cardiac antigens; and passive deposition of blood-borne immune reactants.¹ The classification scheme is primarily descriptive because the etiology and principal pathophysiological mechanism of most of the immunologic cardiovascular diseases are unknown.

CARDITIS

Carditis is a descriptive term for inflammation of any one of the three tissues of the heart (pericarditis, myocarditis, endocarditis) or of all three (pancarditis). Symptoms and signs suggest the portion of the heart involved—chest pain and accumulation of pericardial fluid . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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