Child Heart Disease Cause Identified

Recent research has thrown valuable light on the causes of dilated cardiomyopathy, a potentially fatal child heart disease. In dilated cardiomyopathy or DCM the heart does not pump blood properly. The condition remains largely undetected and often results in heart failure.

Researchers have now managed to uncover partial causes for DCM. Published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the study found heart inflammation is the most common reason behind DCM. Commenting of the study results, British heart experts felt it is highly valuable information.

When a child suffers from DCM, its left ventricle becomes enlarged. This prevents the ventricle, the heart’s chief pumping machine, from pumping blood effectively. At any age inflammation of the left ventricle is the most common form of heart muscle disease. While the research has found a cause for DCM there are presently no figures available on the number of children in the UK suffering from the condition.

1,400 cases of DCM in children were studied by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas Children’s Hospital in the US for arriving at their conclusion. The researchers managed to identify the cause behind the condition in only 35% of all cases. The most common cause found was myocarditis or inflammation of the heart. However no cause could be identified in the remaining 65% of the cases.

The research also found risk of DCM reduces with increasing age – infants less than a year old were at ten times the risk of getting the disease as other children up to 18 years old. The condition is more prevalent in boys as compared to girls. At the same time there is no difference in the survival rates between children and adults with the condition.

Of the study population, around 70% of children survived beyond the first year of contracting the disease; the figure dropping to 50% after five years. Dr Jeffrey Towbin, senior author of the study said, “Children with dilated cardiomyopathy are at the same level of risk as adults of having sudden cardiac death and needing transplants. It is a major cause of death in children, just like it is in adults.”

Nearly a third of all cases of DCM have their origin in the genes and in the opinion of Dr. Towbin, people with a family history of the disorder must be tested. “Even though we can’t always determine what the cause is, we know if it’s inherited. With an early diagnosis, we can begin therapy and assess whether transplantation is necessary.”

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