Acute Myocarditis and Cardiomyopathies

Abstract

The definition and classification of cardiomyopathies were recently revised by an expert panel of the American Heart Association (Maron et al., Circulation 113:1807-1816, 2006) following the initial classification by the World Health Organization in 1995 (Richardson et al., Circulation 93:841-842, 1996). Cardiomyopathies are considered “a heterogeneous group of diseases of the myocardium associated with mechanical and/or electrical dysfunction that usually (but not invariably) exhibit inappropriate ventricular hypertrophy or dilatation and are due to a variety of causes that frequently are genetic” (Maron et al., Circulation 113:1807-1816, 2006). Cardiomyopathies are generally considered as primary (disease solely or predominantly confined to heart muscle) or secondary, showing pathological myocardial involvement secondary to a systemic or multiorgan disease process. Both forms are commonly seen in children, although primary forms predominate.