Classification of the cardiomyopathies: a position statement from the European Society Of Cardiology Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases.
In biology, classification systems are used to promote understanding and systematic discussion through the use of logical groups and hierarchies. In clinical medicine, similar principles are used to standardise the nomenclature of disease. For more than three decades, heart muscle diseases have been classified into primary or idiopathic myocardial diseases (cardiomyopathies) and secondary disorders that have similar morphological appearances, but which are caused by an identifiable pathology such as coronary artery disease or myocardial infiltration (specific heart muscle diseases). In this document, The European Society of Cardiology Working Group on Myocardial and Pericardial Diseases presents an update of the existing classification scheme. The aim is to help clinicians look beyond generic diagnostic labels in order to reach more specific diagnoses.
Elliott
Perry
P
Hadassah University Hospital Ein Kerem, Kirjat Hadassah, Jerusalem 91120, Israel.
Andersson
Bert
B
Arbustini
Eloisa
E
Bilinska
Zofia
Z
Cecchi
Franco
F
Charron
Philippe
P
Dubourg
Olivier
O
Kühl
Uwe
U
Maisch
Bernhard
B
McKenna
William J
WJ
Monserrat
Lorenzo
L
Pankuweit
Sabine
S
Rapezzi
Claudio
C
Seferovic
Petar
P
Tavazzi
Luigi
L
Keren
Andre
A
D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000145:classification* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D012955:Societies, Medical; D018754:Ventricular Dysfunction / Q000145:classification*