[Myocardial biopsy in congestive myocardiopathies of apparently primary origin].

38 patients with congestive cardiomyopathy of apparantly primary origin had a myocardial biopsy. The histology of the fragment of myocardium was studied both by light microscopy and electron microscopy. The results were compared with those from 3 "control" cases and with 16 cases of congestive asystole secondary to a known cause. The non-specific patternss which were observed were of 3 types: patterns of degeneration, pattern of hypertrophy, and interstitial fibrosis. Chronic alcholism had no modifying effect on the ultrastructure. Finally, the group in which the morphology was altered had a higher mortality, but the prognostic significance of the degree of severity of the morphological change must be treated with caution in each individual case.