Genetic studies in the 1980s and 1990s led to landmark discoveries that sarcomere mutations cause both hypertrophic and dilated cardiomyopathies. Sarcomere mutations also likely play a role in more complex phenotypes and overlap cardiomyopathies with features of hypertrophy, dilation, diastolic abnormalities, and non-compaction. Identification of the genetic cause of these important conditions ...

From the Aphorisms of Hippocrates to the sports fields of the twenty-first century, by both the lay public and the medical community, the cardiomyopathies have been recognized as causes of sudden cardiac death (SCD). Prevention of SCD in the cardiomyopathies is a 2-fold challenge. First, and central to clinical practice, is the need for reliable prognostication in individuals with established d...

Sudden cardiac death in young adults may be associated with rare cardiomyopathies such as left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) and arrhythmogenic right ventricular (ARVC) cardiomyopathies. LVNC is characterised by hypertrabeculations and deep recesses of the left ventricle. ARVC presents with thin myocardium as a result of extensive fibro-fatty infiltrations. In both conditions, death may be d...

Pheochromocytoma and paraganglioma (PPG) are rare and late-diagnosed catecholamine secreting tumors, which may be associated with unrecognized and/or severe cardiomyopathies. We performed a computer-assisted systematic search of the electronic Medline databases using the MESH terms "myocarditis," "myocardial infarction," "Takotsubo," "stress cardiomyopathy," "cardiogenic shock", or "dilated car...

background: differences in the quantity and distribution of coronary veins between patients with ischemic and non-ischemic cardiomyopathy might affect the potential for the left ventricular (lv) lead targeting in patients undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy (crt). in the current study, we assessed and compared the suitability of the coronary venous system for the lv lead placement in i...