Conduction System Involvement

Various atrial and ventricular arrhythmias as well as atrioventricular blocks have been described in patients with HIV. Bharati et al. studied histologically the conduction sys­tem in six children who died of AIDS [53].

Vasculitis, myocarditis, and fragmentation with lobulation and fibrosis of the conduc­tion system were found. In a prospective series of 31 pediatric patients with AIDS, Lipshultz et al. found frequent conduction defects and dysrrhythmias [16]. Brady et al. reported the case of an infant with AIDS who died suddenly of probable cardiac arrhythmia due to involvement of the con­duction system by myocarditis [14].