IDIOPATHIC DILATED CARDIOMYOPATHY

Idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC) is a primary myocardial disease of unknown cause characterized by left ventricular or biventricular dilatation and impaired myocardial contractility1. Depending on the diagnostic criteria used, the reported annual incidence varies between 5 and 8 cases per 100,000 population2–5. However, the true incidence is probably underestimated by those figures, since many asymptomatic cases remain unrecognized. The age-adjusted prevalence of IDC in the United States averages 36 cases per 100,000 population,5 and it accounts for 10,000 deaths annually2. Blacks and males have a 2.5-fold increase in risk, as compared with whites and females, that… © 1994, Massachusetts Medical Society. All rights reserved.