Cardiac involvement in polymyositis: Report of case and review of literature

The involvement of cardiac muscle in polymyositis is now being recognized more frequently. Routine diagnostic studies such as electrocardiography, echocardiography, and Holter monitoring have revealed evidence of cardiac abnormalities in as many as 76 percent of patients. Utilization of noninvasive scanning techniques (thallium-201 and gated blood pool studies), when indicated, may increase the diagnostic yield to as high as 100 percent. The case reported here illustrates characteristic polymyositic cardiac involvement incidentally associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Guidelines for the diagnosis and management of the various cardiac manifestations of polymyositis are also discussed