Hypocalcemia is a rare cause of dilated cardiomyopathy. Hypocalcemia induced cardiomyopathy is usually reversible when calcium level returns to normal range. We experienced a case of 57-year-old woman who had suffered from hypocalcemia after total thyroidectomy and its consequence of dilated cardiomyopathy. After supplementation of calcium and vitamin D, symptoms of heart failure and LV functio...

BACKGROUND Little is known about the outcome of patients with Chagas cardiomyopathy in comparison to that of patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in the contemporary era. OBJECTIVE To compare the outcome of chagasic patients with chronic systolic heart failure secondary to Chagas cardiomyopathy with that observed in patients with IDC in the contemporary era. METHODS A total of 35...

Endogenous catecholamines in excess are known to cause dilated cardiomyopathy. A patient presented with dilated cardiomyopathy after many years of overusing an adrenaline inhaler. Pathological features and a considerable improvement in myocardial function after withdrawal implicated the exogenous catecholamine excess in the pathogenesis of the cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVES The purpose of this research was to determine the phenotypic spectrum associated with phospholamban gene (PLN) mutations. BACKGROUND Inheritance contributes to the development of dilated cardiomyopathy. Mutations in the gene encoding PLN have been associated with dilated cardiomyopathy characterized by early onset and the presence of lethal ventricular arrhythmias. METHODS We scr...

Heart failure, caused by dilated cardiomyopathy and other cardiac disorders such as hypertension, is a major public health problem with high morbidity and mortality. Corin, a cardiac enzyme that cleaves natriuretic peptides, is a promising biomarker of cardiomyopathy and heart failure, but its functional role in these processes is not understood. We evaluated the potential effects of corin in m...

Background—Ventricular activation is often abnormal in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, but its specific eVects on timing remain undetermined. Objective—To investigate the use of the ratio of the sum of left ventricular ejection and filling times to the total RR interval (Z ratio) to dissociate the eVects of abnormal activation from those of cavity dilatation. Methods—Subjects were 20 norm...

BACKGROUND The aetiology of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy is believed to have an immunological component. Association with human leucocyte antigens (HLAs) has been previously reported, particularly with HLA-DR4. AIM To determine the association of HLA type with diagnosis in a group of patients assessed for heart transplantation. METHODS A comparison was made of frequencies of HLA types ...

Tissue from the explanted hearts of 21 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy or 19 patients with other specific heart muscle diseases were investigated for presence of enterovirus-specific RNA with an enterovirus group-specific cDNA probe. This was complementary to coxsackievirus B2 RNA sequences between nucleotide numbers 6,550 and 7,400, which are highly conserved between enteroviru...

OBJECTIVE In dilated cardiomyopathy and in athlete's heart, progressive LV dilatation is accompanied by rightward displacement of the diastolic LV pressure-volume relation. In dilated cardiomyopathy, an increase in diastolic LV stiffness can limit this rightward displacement thereby decreasing LV systolic performance. Because nitric oxide (NO) reduces diastolic LV stiffness, the present study r...

BACKGROUND Ventricular activation is often abnormal in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, but its specific effects on timing remain undetermined. OBJECTIVE To investigate the use of the ratio of the sum of left ventricular ejection and filling times to the total RR interval (Z ratio) to dissociate the effects of abnormal activation from those of cavity dilatation. METHODS Subjects were 2...