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DALLAS, May 28, 2019 – A new scientific statement from the American Heart Association (the American Heart Association) is focusing on cardiomyopathies (heart muscle diseases) in children. It provides information on diagnosis and treatment of diseases as well as future research priorities. It will be published in the journal of the American Heart Association circulation.
When a child has certain types of cardiomyopathy, his heart is not able to pump blood efficiently. Symptoms may include breathing difficulties, abnormal heartbeat, dizziness, swollen hands and feet or other indications.
Although rare, cardiomyopathies in children can be life threatening and often result in a child needing a heart transplant or premature death. Cardiomyopathies have many causes, including genetic variations affecting basic cardiac functions, systemic diseases such as infections, treatments for heart-related diseases, and many others, some of which are not yet understood.
According to the statement:
- Nearly 40% of children diagnosed with symptomatic cardiomyopathies receive a heart transplant or die within the first two years of diagnosis.
- The percentage of children with cardiomyopathy who have undergone a heart transplant has not decreased over the last 10 years.
- Cardiomyopathy remains the leading cause of transplantation in children over one year old.
"The purpose of this statement is to give health professionals an overview of what we currently know about cardiomyopathies in children, and although we can provide effective treatments in many cases, it is urgent to conduct research for better outcomes. understanding the causes of these diseases and being able to help children with cardiomyopathies live their best lives, "said Steven E. Lipshultz, MD, chair of the writing group and professor A. Conger Goodyear and director of the department of pediatrics at the Jacobs School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at the University of Buffalo.
Dr. Lipshultz is also Chair of the Medical Advisory Board of the Children & # 39; s Cardiomyopathy Foundation, which works in partnership with the American Heart Association to fund grants for pediatric cardiomyopathy research.
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The co-authors are Yuk M. Law, M.D .; Alfred Asante-Korang, M.D .; Eric D. Austin, M.D .; Anne I. Dipchand, M.D .; Melanie D. Everitt, MD; Daphne T. Hsu, M.D .; Kimberly Y. Lin, M.D .; Jack F. Price, M.D .; James D. Wilkinson, M.D. and Steven D. Colan, M.D.
Additional resources:
After May 28, 2019, consult the manuscript online.
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