Characterization and Clinical Management of Dilated Cardiomyopathy

• Format: eBook
• Language: English
• Published: Basel, Switzerland MDPI - Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute 2021
• Subjects: Medicine; alternative splicing; arrhythmias; arrhythmic risk stratification; atrial fibrillation; biomarkers; calcium; cardiac channelopathy; cardiac magnetic resonance; cardiac magnetic resonance imaging; cardiac resynchronization therapy; cardiac sodium channel; cardiomyopathy; congenital heart disease; congestive heart failure; desmin; diastolic dysfunction; dilated cardiomyopathy; DNA methylation; duchenne muscular distrophy; epigenetics; gene therapy; genetics; heart; heart failure; laminopathy; late gadolinium enhancement; left atrial strain; left ventricle non-compaction cardiomyopathy; left ventricle sphericity index; left ventricular noncompaction; left ventricular reverse remodelling; LMNA; long axis strain; long-term outcomes; major adverse cardiovascular events; malignant ventricular arrhythmia; mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR) complex-1; mdx; membrane stabilization; mitochondrial dysfunction; muscular dystrophy; myopathy; n/a; non-ischemic cardiomyopathy; non-sense mRNA decay; nonischemic dilated cardiomyopathy; NT-proBNP; oxidative stress; phospholamban; phosphorylation; precision medicine; RNA binding motif protein 20 (RBM20); sarcomere; SCN5A; Serca2a; sex differences; supraventricular arrhythmia; systolic dysfunction; tachycardiomyopathy; titin; troponin T; ventricular arrhythmia; whole exome sequencing
• Online Access: Open Access: DOAB: description of the publication; Open Access: DOAB, download the publication

 Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a particular phenotype of non-ischemic systolic heart failure, frequently recognizing a genetic background and affecting relatively young patients with few comorbidities. Nowadays, long-term survival of DCM patients has been markedly improved due to an early diagnosis and uninterrupted and tailored follow-up under constant optimal medical and non-pharmacological evidence-based treatments. Nevertheless, DCM is still one of the most common causes of heart transplantation in the western world. Clinical management requires an integrated and systematic use of diagnostic tools and a deeper investigation of the basic mechanisms underlying the disease. However, several emerging issues remain debated. Specifically, the genotype-phenotype correlation, the role of advanced imaging techniques and genetic testing, the lack of appropriate risk stratification models, the need for a multiparametric and multidisciplinary approach for device implantation, and a continuous reclassification of the disease during follow-up remain challenging issues in clinical practice. Therefore, the aim of this Special Issue is to shed the light on the most recent advancements in characterization and clinical management of DCM in order to unveil the conundrum of this particular disease.