[Electrocardiographic involvements in distrophia musculorum progressiva--Duchenne].

Heart damaging represents one of the major causes of death in patients suffering from Dystrophia musculorum progressive Duchenne. Therefore, it is important to establish the onset of cardiological damaging during regular neurological examinations. The authors examined 59 patients, of whom 21 (35.6%) had rhythmic disturbances, 16 (27.1%) had signs of cardiac hypertrophy, while 3 patients (5.1%) had signs of ischaemia. Within a 7-year period of the disease the patients showed no sign of electrocardiographic changes (19). However, these changes became more frequent and more severe with the patients age. The results emphasize the important role of electrocardiographic examinations in early stages of the disease.