[Clinico-hemodynamic variants of the course of congestive cardiomyopathy]

A total of 45 patients with congestive cardiomyopathy (CCMP) (41 males and 4 females aged 16-57 years) were examined. The study of the clinical picture of the disease has enabled two patient groups to be distinguished: group 1 included 16 patients aged 16-56 years with a rapidly progressive course of the disease and group 2 consisted of 29 patients aged 25-57 years with a slowly progressive form. The symptoms of heart failure were found in all the patients (18 with stage A and 27 with stage B). The cardiothoracal index was 0.64 in rapidly progressive CCMP and 0.58 in slowly progressive one. All the patients with CCMP had a characteristic marked dilatation of all the heart cavities, a sharp decrease in the indices of the pumping and contractile function of the myocardium. These changes were more marked in patients with rapidly progressive CCMP.