Echomorphology of cardiomyopathy: review of 217 cases from 1999 to 2010.

OBJECTIVE: To study echocardiogram features of different types of cardiomyopathy presenting over a 12 year period at a single centre in Peshawar.

METHODS: The series comprised a retrospective review of 13,788 consecutive echocardiograms carried out at the Muhammadi Hospital International Medical Research Centre, Hayatabad, Peshawar, from January 1999 to December 2010. Patients were split into two: Group I with paeditaric and adolescent cases (0-18 years) and Group II with adults (> 18 years). In the adult group, women with peripartum cardiomyopathy were subdivided into two groups of 18-30 years and 30 to 44 years. Standard Echo B and M modes and Doppler parameters were recorded to ascertain the diagnoses of common primary and secondary cardiomyopathies. Patients with myocarditis with chambers' dilatation and global dysfunction, and cardiopathy associated with major cardiovascular diseases were excluded. SPSS 14 was used for statistical analysis.

RESULTS: Cardiomyopathy was diagnosed in 217 (1.57%) cases. There were 144 (66%) cases of dilated cardiomyopathy with a mean age of 13 +/- 14.8 years; 17 (8%) cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with a mean age of 12 +/- 11.5 years; and 7 (3%) cases of restrictve cardiomyopathy with a mean age of 31 +/- 7.8 years. Primary cardiac amyloidosis was confirmed in 9 (4%) cases, and peripartum cardiomyopahty in 25 (11%) females. Rare subtypes were found in 15 (7%) cases.

CONCLUSION: DCM was the most frequently diagnosed subtype of cardiomyopathy followed by HCM in both the adult and paediatric age groups.