Sixty-five patients with dilated cardiomyopathy underwent 24 hour electrocardiographic monitoring: 62 (95.4%) showed ventricular arrhythmias and 52 (80%) complex ventricular arrhythmias (multiform ventricular extrasystoles, paired ventricular extrasystoles and ventricular tachycardia). Complex ventricular arrhythmias correlated significantly with some haemodynamic indices of ventricular dysfunc...

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BACKGROUND Systematic family screening has recently identified dilated cardiomyopathy as an inherited disorder in up to 30% of cases. Mutations in genes encoding proteins responsible for myocardial architecture have been identified, but additional pathophysiological mechanisms including inflammatory reactions have been proposed. AIMS Identification and characterization of familial DCM, where ...

Background Autoantibodies against the 81-adrenoceptor have been detected in the sera of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). The mechanisms by which these autoantibodies can alter normal receptor function are investigated, and the results are interpreted in the light of the beneficial effects of P1-blockade in some of these patients. Methods and Results Autoantibodies against ...

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to quantify the magnitude of interaction between the right and left ventricles in conditions of heart failure. METHODS Human hearts were taken from transplant recipients diagnosed with diluted cardiomyopathy at the time of transplantation and were restored to beating condition with use of an isolated perfusion circuit. Left ventricular-right ventricular...

Results of cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle biopsies were compared in 22 patients with cardiomyopathy; 11 patients presented with symptoms secondary to ventricular tachycardia (Group 1) and 11 had symptoms of severe congestive heart failure (Group 2). No patient had structural or ischemic cardiac disease. In Group 1 patients, hemodynamic abnormalities were subtle, but invasive study demonstra...

Background. The right ventricle (RV) receives part of its systolic pumping force from the left ventricle through systolic ventricular interaction. The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of dilated cardiomyopathy on left ventricular to right ventricular (LV-to-RV) systolic interaction. Methods and Results. Studies were performed in six normal pigs and in six pigs in which dilated...

Considerable progress has been made to identify genetic causation of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). DCM is characterized by left ventricular dilatation and systolic dysfunction, and after known causes have been excluded has been termed idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC). Studies of IDC that occurs in families, termed familial dilated cardiomyopathy (FDC) provided the initial phenotypic data...

In majority of the cases familial dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is inherited in an autosomal dominant manner. In rare instances, this condition is inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern. In other rare cases, DCM can be inherited in an Xlinked pattern. Establishing a genetic diagnosis confirms or modifies the clinical diagnosis and enables disease specific estimates on prognostics and treatm...

A 28-year-old male patient with bipolar disorder taking olanzapine and lorazepam for almost 10 years presented with weight gain, diabetes, and anasarca was examined in this study. Evaluation of the patient revealed he was in heart failure. The reason for his heart failure was ambiguous and an investigation into it revealed negative results. Literature search conducted showed a few reported case...