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Updated: Jun 5, 2026
04:44
Imaging Features of Systemic Sclerosis-Associated Interstitial Lung Disease
Published on: June 16, 2020
Systemic sclerosis presented as congestive heart failure: an autopsy case
Hiroyuki Kanno1, Toshie Segawa, Yasuhiro Miura
1Department of Pathology, Iwate Medical University School of Medicine, 19-1 Uchimaru, Morioka, 020-8505, Japan. hirokan@iwate-med.ac.jp
Modern Rheumatology
|January 26, 2011
Summary
Systemic sclerosis can affect the heart, causing myositis and fibrosis. Autopsy revealed significant cardiac changes, including ventricular hypertrophy and diffuse fibrosis, mimicking ischemic heart disease in a patient with scleroderma.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Rheumatology
- Pathology
Background:
- Systemic sclerosis is a multisystem autoimmune disease characterized by fibrosis.
- Myositis, inflammation of muscle tissue, can occur in systemic sclerosis, affecting skeletal and cardiac muscle.
- Cardiac involvement in systemic sclerosis can lead to heart failure.
Observation:
- Autopsy was performed on a 69-year-old Japanese woman with systemic sclerosis.
- The patient presented with congestive heart failure and died from respiratory failure.
- Histopathological examination of the heart revealed dilated ventricular hypertrophy.
Findings:
- Myositis lesions were identified in the skeletal muscles and myocardium.
- The myocardium showed diffuse replacement fibrosis, similar to ischemic heart disease.
- Patchy fibrosis around myocardial fibers suggested a post-myocarditis-like process.
Implications:
- This case highlights the potential for severe cardiac pathology in systemic sclerosis.
- Cardiac fibrosis in systemic sclerosis may mimic other cardiac conditions like ischemic heart disease.
- Understanding these pathological findings is crucial for diagnosing and managing cardiac complications in systemic sclerosis.
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