Circulating immune complexes in cardiac disease

A growing number of experimental studies suggest that immunological mechanisms play a part in the pathogenesis of atherosclerosis. However, apart from the development of an accelerated form of atheroma in cardiac allograft recipients there is little clinical evidence for this viewpoint. Circulating immune complexes (CIC) have been implicated in the initiation of arterial lesions in animals with serum sickness and in a number of human connective tissue disorders. The authors have therefore studied CIC levels in a variety of patients with ischaemic heart disease, comparing the results with both normal controls and patients with other forms of heart disorders.