Autoimmune heart disease

A combination of genetic predisposition and environmental factors contributes to the development of autoimmune disease. Autoimmune diseases can be classified as organ-specific or systemic depending on whether the autoimmune response is directed against a particular tissue like the heart, which occurs during myocarditis and dilated cardiomyopathy, or is directed against widespread antigens such as cell nuclear antigens, as often occurs in rheumatic autoimmune diseases. Most autoimmune diseases occur more frequently in women, but autoimmune heart diseases, particularly those with a cell-mediated pathogenesis, occur more often in men. Common mechanisms such as activation of Toll-like receptors and proinflammatory and profibrotic cytokines contribute to the pathogenesis of disease and likely increase the risk for women with autoimmune diseases to secondarily develop cardiovascular diseases.