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[Hepatitis C virus infection and cardiomyopathy]
1Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine.
Insights
Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is linked to cardiomyopathies, with HCV RNA found in heart tissues. This suggests HCV may cause unexplained heart conditions, potentially treatable with antiviral therapies.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Virology
- Infectious Diseases
Context:
- Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is increasingly recognized in patients presenting with cardiomyopathies.
- Previous studies have indicated a potential association between HCV and heart conditions.
Purpose:
- To investigate the presence and replication of Hepatitis C virus (HCV) in myocardial tissues of patients with cardiomyopathies.
- To determine the prevalence of HCV infection in patients with unexplained heart diseases and identify associated cardiac abnormalities.
Summary:
- HCV RNA, including negative strands indicating replication, was detected in the heart tissues of cardiomyopathy patients.
- A higher frequency of HCV antibodies was observed in Japanese patients with cardiomyopathies compared to blood donors.
- HCV antibodies were found in 5.4% of patients seeking care at academic hospitals, with arrhythmias being the most common cardiac abnormality.
Impact:
- These findings suggest Hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is a significant etiological factor for various unexplained heart diseases.
- Antiviral treatments, such as interferons and ribavirin, show promise for managing HCV-associated cardiomyopathy.
Abstract:
The importance of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection has been recently noted in patients with cardiomyopathies. HCV RNAs were found in the hearts of patients with cardiomyopathies, and negative strands of HCV RNA were also detected in the hearts, suggesting that HCV replicates in myocardial tissues. In a collaborative research project of the Committees for the Study of Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy, HCV antibody was more frequently found in patients with cardiomyopathies than that found in volunteer blood donors in Japan. HCV antibody was detected in 5.4% seeking care in 5 academic hospitals. Various cardiac abnormalities were found, and arrhythmias was the most frequent. These observations suggest that HCV infection is an important cause of a variety of otherwise unexplained heart diseases. It is likely that antiviral agents such as interferons and ribavirin will be valuable in the treatment of cardiomyopathy due to HCV infection.