title: Pediatric cardiomyopathies: causes, epidemiology, clinical course, preventive strategies and therapies.
abstract: Pediatric cardiomyopathies, which are rare but serious disorders of the muscles of the heart, affect at least one in every 100,000 children in the USA. Approximately 40% of children with symptomatic cardiomyopathy undergo heart transplantation or die from cardiac complications within 2 years. However, a significant number of children suffering from cardiomyopathy are surviving into adulthood, making it an important chronic illness for both pediatric and adult clinicians to understand. The natural history, risk factors, prevalence and incidence of this pediatric condition were not fully understood before the 1990s. Questions regarding optimal diagnostic, prognostic and treatment methods remain. Children require long-term follow-up into adulthood in order to identify the factors associated with best clinical practice including diagnostic approaches, as well as optimal treatment approaches. In this article, we comprehensively review current research on various presentations of this disease, along with current knowledge about their causes, treatments and clinical outcomes.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pediatrics, University of Miami Miller School of Medicine, 1601 NW 12th Avenue, 9th Floor, Miami, FL 33136, USA.
authors.forename: Steven E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Lipshultz
authors.forename: Thomas R
authors.initials: TR
authors.lastname: Cochran
authors.forename: David A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Briston
authors.forename: Stefanie R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Brown
authors.forename: Peter J
authors.initials: PJ
authors.lastname: Sambatakos
authors.forename: Tracie L
authors.initials: TL
authors.lastname: Miller
authors.forename: Adriana A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Carrillo
authors.forename: Liat
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Corcia
authors.forename: Janine E
authors.initials: JE
authors.lastname: Sanchez
authors.forename: Melissa B
authors.initials: MB
authors.lastname: Diamond
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Freundlich
authors.forename: Danielle
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Harake
authors.forename: Tamara
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Gayle
authors.forename: William G
authors.initials: WG
authors.lastname: Harmon
authors.forename: Paolo G
authors.initials: PG
authors.lastname: Rusconi
authors.forename: Satinder K
authors.initials: SK
authors.lastname: Sandhu
authors.forename: James D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Wilkinson
mesh_terms: D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D019468:Disease Management; D018450:Disease Progression; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D015995:Prevalence; D011379:Prognosis; D012307:Risk Factors; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology