Treatment of end stage dilated cardiomyopathy.

Patients should be referred for cardiac transplantation only after all other means of management of congestive heart failure have been attempted and have been unsuccessful (table 3). An adequate therapeutic trial of conventional and experimental agents including beta blockade and vesnarinone should be completed and be shown to be unsuccessful before transplantation is considered in patients in NYHA class III. Prospective clinical trials need to be completed to define the role of newer therapeutic options. The scarcity of donor organs will probably preclude the use of cardiac transplantation in all patients who may benefit. Alternative methods of cardiac replacement (such as dynamic cardiomyoplasty, permanent implantable mechanical circulatory assistance, and xenografting) must be developed. These methods coupled with better pharmacological treatment will greatly improve the outcome of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy.