Abstract

Cardiomyopathies are heart muscle diseases originated from a series of aggressions, such as genetic defects, cardiac myocyte injury or infiltration of myocardial tissue. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is characterized by an impairment of the left ventricular or biventricular contraction, caused by familial, genetic, viral, autoimmune, alcoholic, toxic, or of unknown cause. It is also associated with other recognized cardiovascular diseases, being considered a major cause of heart failure (HF) and the main indication for heart transplantation. Despite this, even in specialized centers with exhaustive diagnostic investigation, in only half of the cases, a specific cause is established for the disease. In its idiopathic form the evolution may not be progressive and different oucomes may be observed.