A new study found that 34.4% of children who developed dilated cardiomyopathy after myocarditis had a cardiomyopathy gene variant, while only 6.3% of control children had such variants. The authors say the difference was highly significant.
The research compared 32 children with both dilated cardiomyopathy and myocarditis to children who had myocarditis without dilated cardiomyopathy and to heart-healthy controls. The children with cardiomyopathy were part of the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry (PCMR). Steven E. Lipshultz founded and leads the PCMR. Researchers describe a "double hit" model: a genetic mutation from birth plus an infection that reaches heart cells. The authors advise genetic testing and say the work appears in Circulation Heart Failure.
Difficult words
- dilated cardiomyopathy — A heart condition with a weak, enlarged heart.
- myocarditis — Inflammation or infection of the heart muscle.
- variant — A different form of a gene.
- significant — An important result not likely by chance.
- registry — A recorded list of people or cases.
- double hit — Two causes that together make disease happen.
- mutation — A change in a person's genes present at birth.
- genetic testing — A medical test that looks for gene changes.
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Discussion questions
- What does the "double hit" idea mean in this article?
- How could genetic testing help families with a child who has heart problems?
- Do you think it is important to compare sick children with healthy controls? Why or why not?
