There are various types of cardiomyopathies; Dilated, Hypertrophic, Restrictive, Arrhythmogenic right ventricular, non-compaction and Tako-tsubo. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common among all. Idiopathic DCM is generally an irreversible heart muscle disease with approximate prevalence of 1:2500. DCM is amongst the most frequent cause of heart transplantation [1].

The term DCM has been used here to denote idiopathic DCM. The American Heart Association (AHA) and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) have designated cardiomyopathies as either primary exclusively involving the heart and secondary due to systemic disease, genetic, acquired and mixed etiology [2].

DCM is the cause of decompensated heart failure in almost 20% of admittance [2-4]. Patients with idiopathic DCM are mainly in the age group of 20 to 60 years [5].

There is paucity of studies describing the idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy patients. Therefore, the present study was carried out to evaluate the socio-demographic characteristics of Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy patients.

Aims and Objectives

To evaluate the socio-demographic characteristics of Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy patients

This was a prospective study. A total of 34 patients were taken into study from outpatient departments and inpatient wards. The study was carried out in the Department of Cardiology at PGIMER, Chandigarh. A total of 34 patients aged between 20-60 years, diagnosed with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy scrutinized following protocoled set exclusion criteria were investigated.

Prior 2-D Echo was performed, whoever revealed left 

ventricular ejection fraction less than 40% were investigated with protocoled exclusion criteria such as coronary angiography to rule out ischemic causes.

Inclusion Criteria

• Ejection fraction < 40%

• Age- 20 to 60 yrs

• Normal coronaries

Exclusion Criteria

• NYHA class IV

• Absence of systemic hypertension (> 160/100 mm Hg)

• Coronary artery disease (> 50% in one or more major branches)

• Chronic excess alcohol (> 40 g/day female, > 80 g/day male for more than five years after six-month abstinence)

• Thyroid disorders

• Iron deficiency

An informed consent was obtained from all patients enrolled in study. All patients participated voluntarily and were informed about study verbally and in writing before entering the study. The protocol was in accordance with the Helsinki Convention and was approved by the local ethical committee. Patient’s baseline characteristics and investigations were recorded.

Statistical Analysis

Descriptive analysis is presented as frequencies and confidence intervals (CI); medians and range; or means and standard deviation (SD), as appropriate. Data was analyzed using SPSS version 19.0 (IBM Corporation, US).

Among the total 34 patients 25 (73.5%) were males and 9 (26.5%) were females (M: F=2.7:1). Among them 23 (67.6%) were <40 years old while 11 (32.4%) were >40 years old. The mean age of the patients was 40.44 (S.D.± 10.42). Patients were divided into LVEF<25%, LVEF>25%, RVEF<35% and RVEF>35% with respect to age and gender respectively. 

Total patients with LVEF< 25% were 18, out of which 3 (16.7%) were female and 15 were male (83.3%). Among these 3 (16.7%) were >40 years and 15 were <40 years (83.3%). Total patients with LVEF>25% were 16, out of which 10 males (62.5%) and 6 females (37.5%). Among these 8 (50%) were >40 years and 8 were <40 years (50%). Total patients with RVEF<35% were 11, out of which 2 (18.2%) were female and 9 were male (81.8%). Among these 3 (27.3%) were >40 years and 8 were <40 years (72.7%). Total patients with RVEF>35% were 23, out of which 16 males (69.6%) and 7 females (30.4%). Among these 8 (34.8%) were >40 years and 15 were <40 years (65.2%) (Table 1).

Table 1: Socio-demographic characteristics of idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy patients

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) constitutes a subset of heart failure (HF) conditions, characterized by the presence of left ventricular dilatation and contractile dysfunction, which is not explained by abnormal loading conditions (hypertension or valvular heart disease) or coronary artery disease. DCM has an estimated contemporary prevalence of > 1 case per 250 individuals, accompanied by a serious prognosis, and a global increase of 27% during the last 10 years [6-7].

In our study, a total of 34 patients were included whose mean age was 40.44 years (±10.42) Among them 23 were <40 years old while 11 were >40 years old. Among them 25 males and 9 females and Male to female ratio was 2.7:1. Similarly in the study [8], Patients were older (mean 63.9, 64.9, 64.9 years, p = 0.022), and the proportion of females increased (mean 22.5%, 26.4%, 27.6%, p = 0.0001) over calendar periods.

Present study concluded that most of patients ofIdiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy patients were males and less than 40 years old.

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2. Broch, K. et al. “Results of comprehensive diagnostic work-up in ‘idiopathic’ dilated cardiomyopathy.” Open Heart, vol. 2, no. 1, 2015, e000271.

3. Mansour, S. et al. “Efficacy of ivabradine in idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy patients with chronic heart failure.” The Egyptian Heart Journal, vol. 63, no. 2, 2011, pp. 79–85.

4. Radu, R.I. et al. “Histological and immunohistochemical changes of the myocardium in dilated cardiomyopathy.” Romanian Journal of Morphology and Embryology, vol. 53, no. 2, 2012, pp. 269–75.

5. Hazebroek, M., R. Dennert, and S. Heymans. “Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Possible Triggers and Treatment Strategies.” Netherlands Heart Journal, vol. 20, no. 7, 2012, pp. 332–35.

6. Hershberger, Ray E. et al. “Dilated cardiomyopathy: The complexity of a diverse genetic architecture.” Nature Reviews Cardiology, vol. 10, no. 9, 2013, pp. 531–47.

7. Seferović, Heinz-Peter, et al. “Dilated cardiomyopathy (Primer).” Nature Reviews Disease Primers, vol. 5, 2019.

8. Sjöland, H. et al. “Temporal trends in outcome and patient characteristics in dilated cardiomyopathy: Data from the Swedish heart failure registry 2003–2015.” BMC Cardiovascular Disorders, vol. 21, 2021, pp. 307–21.