Psoriasis and Cardiomyopathy: A Review of the Literature

Psoriasis is an idiopathic chronic immune-mediated skin condition in which the body's immune system undergoes several derangements, including increased antigen presentation by T cells and increased T-helper cell type 1 cytokines, resulting in skin lesions as well as arthritis. Despite that cardiovascular involvement in psoriasis is common and reported in up to 47% of cases, this association is not well recognized by physicians, dermatologists, and cardiologists. Psoriasis is considered the most prevalent autoimmune disease in the United States and affects approximately 7.4 million people. Although its exact etiology is unclear, inflammatory response to infectious agents has been proposed as one of the mechanisms. We present a concise review of the literature associating psoriasis with dilated cardiomyopathy and the proposed pathophysiologic processes for the main goal of increased awareness.