Rakar S, Sinagra G, Di Lenarda A, Poletti A, Bussani R, Silvestri F, Camerini F
Cardiology Department, Ospedale Maggiore and University, Trieste, Italy.
Eur Heart J. 1997 Jan;18(1):117-23. doi: 10.1093/oxfordjournals.eurheartj.a015092.
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease of unknown aetiology, characterized by left ventricular dilatation and impaired systolic function. Data on the incidence and prevalence of the disease is ambiguous, due to geographic variations, patient selection and the diagnostic criteria adopted.
All the post-mortem and clinical cases observed in a consecutive series of 5252 patients resident in Trieste during the period November 1987-November 1989 were studied.
Incidence of the disease discovered at autopsy was estimated at 4.5/100,000/year (24 cases), while clinical incidence in the same period was 2.45/100,000/year (13 cases). This is a total incidence of 6.95/100,000 new cases a year. A possible family history of heart muscle disease was found in three patients (12.5%). In 15 patients (62.5%) deaths were due to cardiological complications. Endocardial thickening (P = 0.03), fatty infiltration (P = 0.01) and arterial involvement (P = 0.04) were found more frequently in older patients (> 65 years).
The study confirms that dilated cardiomyopathy in Europe has a higher incidence than previously suggested and emphasizes the need for greater diagnostic sensitivity, particularly since pharmacological treatment is now so effective.
扩张型心肌病是一种病因不明的心肌疾病，其特征为左心室扩张和收缩功能受损。由于地域差异、患者选择和所采用的诊断标准，关于该疾病发病率和患病率的数据并不明确。
对1987年11月至1989年11月期间居住在的里雅斯特的连续5252例患者中观察到的所有尸检和临床病例进行研究。
尸检发现该疾病的发病率估计为4.5/100,000/年（24例），而同期临床发病率为2.45/100,000/年（13例）。这意味着每年新发病例的总发病率为6.95/100,000。在3例患者（12.5%）中发现可能有心肌病家族史。15例患者（62.5%）死于心脏并发症。老年患者（>65岁）的心内膜增厚（P = 0.03）、脂肪浸润（P = 0.01）和动脉受累（P = 0.04）更为常见。
该研究证实欧洲扩张型心肌病的发病率高于先前报道，并强调需要提高诊断敏感性，特别是因为目前药物治疗非常有效。
