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Book

Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Hadi Mahmaljy  1 , Varun S. Yelamanchili  2 , Mayank Singhal  3
In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2025 Jan.
.
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Book

Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Hadi Mahmaljy et al.
Free Books & Documents

Excerpt

Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disease of the heart muscle characterized by enlargement and dilation of one or both of the ventricles along with impaired contractility defined as left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) less than 40%. By definition, patients have systolic dysfunction and may or may not have overt symptoms of heart failure. This disease process can be classified as either primary or secondary DCM. Primary DCM is considered idiopathic and the diagnosis can only be made after excluding secondary causes.

In most cases DCM is progressive, leading to heart failure and death. Without a transplant, the survival rates are poor.

DCM has many causes and all of them affect the ventricular function to a varying degree. While most patients with DCM have symptoms, a few patients may be asymptomatic because of the compensatory mechanisms. The continued enlargement fo the ventricles leads to a decline in ventricular function, followed by conduction system abnormalities, ventricular arrhythmias, thromboembolism, and heart failure. The earlier these patients are identified and treated, the better the prognosis.

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Conflict of interest statement

Disclosure: Hadi Mahmaljy declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Varun Yelamanchili declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

Disclosure: Mayank Singhal declares no relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies.

References

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    1. Stergiopoulos K, Lima FV. Peripartum cardiomyopathy-diagnosis, management, and long term implications. Trends Cardiovasc Med. 2019 Apr;29(3):164-173. - PubMed
    1. Paldino A, De Angelis G, Merlo M, Gigli M, Dal Ferro M, Severini GM, Mestroni L, Sinagra G. Genetics of Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Clinical Implications. Curr Cardiol Rep. 2018 Aug 13;20(10):83. - PubMed
    1. Vikhorev PG, Vikhoreva NN. Cardiomyopathies and Related Changes in Contractility of Human Heart Muscle. Int J Mol Sci. 2018 Jul 31;19(8) - PMC - PubMed
    1. Masarone D, Kaski JP, Pacileo G, Elliott PM, Bossone E, Day SM, Limongelli G. Epidemiology and Clinical Aspects of Genetic Cardiomyopathies. Heart Fail Clin. 2018 Apr;14(2):119-128. - PubMed

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