Epidemiology

Abstract

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a primary heart disease characterized by progressive dilatation and ventricular dysfunction. Its epidemiology has long been ignored due to lack of universal diagnostic criteria and studies on small samples, often limited to specific geographical areas. Recently, thanks to the first consensus on cardiomyopathies and the advent of the new imaging methods, further information on the epidemiology of this pathology have been identified. Familial screening of relatives of DCM patients highlighted the complex familial inheritance of this disease. Furthermore, the better diagnostic yield provided more accurate data on the real prevalence and incidence of this condition. The development of molecular biology and gene sequencing is opening up to new frontiers in the field of epidemiology, prognosis and genotype and phenotype correlation.