Abstract
Cardiomyopathies are traditionally divided into dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), restrictive cardiomyopathy, and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. DCM is characterized by depressed systolic function and an increase in the size of the left ventricle usually involving dilatation of all four chambers. 1 DCM represents a common cause of congestive heart failure and frequently leads to cardiac transplantation. 2 Approximately 30 to 40% of patients with DCM have a familial form of the disease involving mutations in genes coding for cytoskeletal and sarcomeric proteins. 2,3 The remaining cases are idiopathic, many of which are believed to be due to preceding myocarditis, particularly virus-induced. The detection of a cardiotropic virus, such as coxsackievirus and adenovirus, in endomyocardial biopsy specimens from patients with DCM supports this hypothesis. 4,5 The presence of a virus in the myocardium has been shown to be associated with a poorer prognosis in DCM. 6,7
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