Spillmann F, Kühl U, Van Linthout S, Dominguez F, Escher F, Schultheiss HP, Pieske B, Tschöpe C. Reversible transition from a hypertrophic to a dilated cardiomyopathy.
ESC Heart Fail 2016;
3:138-142. [PMID:
27774273 PMCID:
PMC5064744 DOI:
10.1002/ehf2.12072]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/07/2015] [Revised: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 10/01/2015] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
We report the case of a 17‐year‐old female patient with known hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and a Wolff‐Parkinson‐White syndrome. She came to our department for further evaluation of a new diagnosed dilated cardiomyopathy characterized by an enlargement of the left ventricle and a fall in ejection fraction. Clinically, she complained about atypical chest pain, arrhythmic episodes with presyncopal events, and dyspnea (NYHA III) during the last 6 months. Non‐invasive and invasive examinations including magnetic resonance imaging, electrophysiological examinations, and angiography did not lead to a conclusive diagnosis. Therefore, endomyocardial biopsies (EMBs) were taken to investigate whether a specific myocardial disease caused the impairment of the left ventricular function. EMB analysis resulted in the diagnosis of a virus‐negative, active myocarditis. Based on this diagnosis, an immunosuppressive treatment with prednisolone and azathioprine was started, which led to an improvement of cardiac function and symptoms within 3 months after initiating therapy. In conclusion, we show that external stress triggered by myocarditis can induce a reversible transition from a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy to a dilated cardiomyopathy phenotype. This case strongly underlines the need for a thorough and invasive examination of heart failure of unknown causes, including EMB investigations as recommend by the actual ESC position statement.
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