MECHANISMS OF CARDIAC LESIONS IN PROGRESS IVE SYSTEMIC-SCLEROSIS - 3 CASE-REPORTS

To investigate myocardial manifestations in progressive systemic scler osis, we studied three patients with transthoracic echocardiography, c ardiac catheterization with coronary angiography, thallium scans with dipyridamol completed by thoracic cold exposure and endomyocardial bio psy with immunohistology. Two patients were symptomatic. In the three cases, abnormalities of myocardial myocardial perfusion were detected without coronary stenosis. Two patients had myocardial fibrosis with a coronary spasm ill one case. The immunohistological study always show ed an unusual expression of HLA class II antigen on cardiac fibroblast s.