Clue to fatal child heart disease

Dilated cardiomyopathy affects both children and adults

Researchers have uncovered partial causes for dilated cardiomyopathy, a form of potentially fatal child heart disease that often goes undetected.

DCM means the heart fails to pump properly and the condition can often lead to heart failure.

The US research, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found heart inflammation is the most common cause.

British heart experts said the research provided "valuable information".

It is a major cause of death in children, just like it is in adults Dr Jeffrey Towbin, researcher

DCM occurs when the left ventricle, the heart's major pumping chamber, becomes enlarged and cannot pump effectively.

It is the most common form of heart muscle disease at any age.

There are no figures on how many children in the UK are affected.

Boys at higher risk

Researchers at Baylor College of Medicine, and Texas Children's Hospital, in the US, looked at 1,400 cases of DCM in children.

They were able to identify the causes in 35%, the most common one being myocarditis (inflammation of the heart).

The origins in two-thirds of cases studied were unknown.

Infants under a year old were almost 10 times more likely to develop DCM than other children up to 18 years old.

Survival rates for children with DCM were also found to be approximately the same as in adults with the condition.

In both groups, around 70% live beyond the first year of the disorder's onset, and 50% survive past five years.

The study also found DCM to be more common among boys, and in children from black ethnic minorities.

Serious condition

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."

About one-third of all cases of DCM are genetic in origin and Dr Towbin recommends that people with a family history of the disorder 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."