[Cardiomyopathy in children].

Cardiomyopathies (CMP) are rare diseases in childhood. There are three different types (dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive). Exact epidemiologic drawing are not well-known, and the numerous nosologic problems still exist. The basic classification distinguishes primary (not well-knows cause) and secondary CMP (cardiac changes have been developed as any influence of the well-known diseases of the cardiovascular system). Dilated forms make 55%, hypertrophic 40% and restrictive only 5% of all CMP. The tendency of this paper is introduce the knowledge of new approaches to cardiomyopathies, the definition of which was taken at 1983. The mean consideration includes etiology and therapeutic approach of different types of CMP. The chapter on dilated CMP was mainly aimed to discuss their development after virus myocarditis, immunologic processes and complicated therapeutic treatment (different in acute, subacute and chronic phase). The purpose of this paper is to call the attention on the CMP in children, as the main problem in pediatric cardiology after congenital heart diseases.