Learn About Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy
View Main Condition: Cardiomyopathy
Dilated cardiomyopathy is a form of heart disease in which the heart (cardiac) muscle becomes thin and enlarged (dilated). The dilation, which typically starts in the lower left chamber of the heart (left ventricle), makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body.
Variants (also called mutations) in more than 20 genes have been found to cause nonsyndromic dilated cardiomyopathy. These genes provide instructions for making proteins that are found in cardiac muscle cells called cardiomyocytes.
Dilated cardiomyopathy may affect as many as 1 in 250 people. In approximately 30 to 50 percent of these cases, there is a family history of the condition.
Nonsyndromic dilated cardiomyopathy has different inheritance patterns depending on the specific gene involved. When nonsyndromic dilated cardiomyopathy is present in multiple family members, it is often called familial dilated cardiomyopathy.
Osu Internal Medicine LLC
Ray Hershberger is an Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiologist and a Cardiologist in Columbus, Ohio. Dr. Hershberger is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy. His top areas of expertise are Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Cardiomyopathy, and Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. Dr. Hershberger is currently accepting new patients.
Perry Elliott practices in London, United Kingdom. Mr. Elliott is rated as an Elite expert by MediFind in the treatment of Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy. His top areas of expertise are Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM), Familial Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, Heart Transplant, and Cardiac Ablation.
University Physicians Incorporated
Luisa Mestroni is a Cardiologist in Aurora, Colorado. Dr. Mestroni is rated as an Elite provider by MediFind in the treatment of Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy. Her top areas of expertise are Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy, Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM), Cardiomyopathy, Heart Transplant, and Aortic Valve Replacement. Dr. Mestroni is currently accepting new patients.
Summary: The goal of this observational study is to develop a registry of Brazilian patients with hereditary cardiovascular diseases, combining clinical and genomic data. The main questions it aims to answer are: Which genes are most commonly affected? What is the frequency of these genetic alterations in our population? Participants will be interviewed in routine medical care visits and their DNA will be ...
Summary: Prospective, multicenter, randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind clinical trial to evaluate safety and efficacy of candesartan in the prevention of the development of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) in genetic carriers of a DCM-causing variant without disease expression (asymptomatic)
Published Date: November 19, 2025
Published By: National Institutes of Health