[Cardiomyopathies]

Cardiomyopathies, and more specifically hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, have opened the route to what is now called genetic cardiology. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is characterized by unexplained left and/or right ventricular hypertrophy, and disorganisation of tissular architecture. Approximately 60% of HCM are transmitted as an autosomal dominant trait. The clinical aspects of HCM vary markedly, and several morphological variants were described, depending on the localization of hypertrophy. This pathology is often complicated by cardiac failure, but the major risk is sudden death, and the predictive factors are presently very unrefined. Several pathogenic hypotheses were forwarded in the past, and one surprising result of genetic analyses is that none of these hypotheses was confirmed. Four disease genes were identified, and they encode sarcomeric proteins, cardiac myosin heavy chain, troponin T, tropomyosin and cardiac myosin binding protein C. To this high intergenic heterogeneity is associated a high intragenic heterogeneity. A major fall out of these genetic findings is the recent discovery of adult healthy carriers, around 30% in our experience. Genetype/phenotype relationships are being performed, and this is the first approach to a prognostic evaluation based on genetic localisation. The work on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is currently being used as a model to analyse dilated cardiomyopathies, characterized by dilatation and impaired contraction of the left or both ventricles. The mode of inheritance of these forms of cardiomyopathies is complex. Five families with an autosomal inheritance were analyzed since two years, the loci were found, but the disease genes are not identified yet. Identification of patients at high risk and early treatment or prevention are the current goals.