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"Resources" on this report.
Copyright 2003
NORD is grateful to Steve D. Colan, MD, Associate Professor of Pediatrics at Harvard Medical School and Chief, Division of Noninvasive Cardiology, Boston Children’s Hospital, and the Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation for assistance in the preparation of this report.
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Synonyms of Pediatric Cardiomyopathy
- Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC)
- Asymmetrical Septal Hypertrophy
- Familial Congestive Cardiomyopathy
- Familial Dilated Cardiomyopathy (FDC)
- Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM)
- Idiopathic Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- Idiopathic Hypertrophic Subaortic Stenosis
- Non-obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Disorder Subdivisions
- Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD)
- Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM)
- Restrictive Cardiomyopathy
General Discussion
Pediatric cardiomyopathy is a rare heart condition that affects infants and children. Specifically, cardiomyopathy means disease of the heart muscle (myocardium). Several different types of cardiomyopathy exist and the specific symptoms vary from case to case. In some cases, no symptoms may be present (asymptomatic); in many cases, cardiomyopathy is a progressive condition that may result in an impaired ability of the heart to pump blood; fatigue; heart block; irregular heartbeats (tachycardia); and, potentially, heart failure and sudden cardiac death.
Cardiomyopathy may be termed ischemic or nonischemic. Ischemic cardiomyopathy refers to cases that occur due to a lack of blood flow and oxygen (ischemia) to the heart. Such cases often result from hardening of the arteries (coronary artery disease). Nonischemic cardiomyopathy refers to cases that occur due to structural damage or malfunction of the heart muscle. Nearly all cases of pediatric cardiomyopathy are nonischemic. This report deals with nonischemic pediatric cardiomyopathy.
Cardiomyopathy may also be termed primary or secondary. Primary cardiomyopathy refers to cases where cardiomyopathy occurs by itself or for unknown reasons (idiopathic). Secondary cardiomyopathy refers to cases where the disease occurs secondary to a known cause such as heart muscle inflammation (myocarditis) caused by viral or bacterial infections; exposure to certain toxins such as heavy metals or excessive alcohol use; or certain disorders that affect the heart and/or additional organs systems. According to the Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry, approximately 79 percent of pediatric cardiomyopathy cases occur for unknown reasons (idiopathic).
Nonischemic cardiomyopathy may be further divided into four subtypes based upon the specific changes within the heart. These subtypes are: dilated, hypertrophic, restrictive and arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia.
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Organizations related to Pediatric Cardiomyopathy
- American Heart Association
7272 Greenville Avenue
Dallas TX 75231-4596
Phone #: 214-373-6300
800 #: 800-242-8721
e-mail: Review.personal.info@heart.org
Home page: http://www.americanheart.org
- Cardiac Arrhythmias Research and Education Foundation, Inc. (C.A.R.E)
427 Fulton Street
P.O. Box 69
Seymour WI 54165
Phone #: 920-833-7000
800 #: 800-404-9500
e-mail: care@careforhearts.org
Home page: http://www.longqt.org
- Cardiomyopathy Association
Chiltern Court, Unit 10
Asheridge Road
Chesham
Bucks Intl HP5 2PX
Phone #: +44- (0-)1494 791224
800 #: 080-0 0-18 1024
e-mail: info@caridiomyopathy.org
Home page: http://www.cardiomyopathy.org
- Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation (CCF)
PO Box 547
Tenafly NJ 07670
Phone #: 866-808-2873
800 #: --
e-mail: info@childrenscardiomyopathy.org
Home page: http://www.childrenscardiomyopathy.org
- Congenital Heart Information Network (C.H.I.N.)
101 N Washington Ave, Suite 1A
101 N Washington Ave, Suite 1A
Margate City NJ 08402-1195
Phone #: 609-822-1572
800 #: --
e-mail: mb@tchin.org
Home page: http://www.tchin.org
- Genetic and Rare Diseases (GARD) Information Center
PO Box 8126
Gaithersburg MD 20898-8126
Phone #: 301-251-4925
800 #: 888-205-2311
e-mail: http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD/EmailForm.aspx
Home page: http://rarediseases.info.nih.gov/GARD
- HOPE (The Heart of Pediatric Electrophysiology)
PO Box 519
Park Ridge NJ 07565
Phone #: 201-505-9383
800 #: 877-394-4673
e-mail: info@heartbeatsofhope.org, info@timothysyndrome.org
Home page: http://www.heartbeatsofhope.org
- Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association
328 Green Pond Rd
P.O. Box 306
Hibernia NJ 07842
Phone #: 973-983-7429
800 #: 877-329-4262
e-mail: support@4hcm.org
Home page: http://www.4hcm.org
- Irish Heart Foundation
4 Clyde Road
Ballsbridge
Dublin None 4
Phone #: +35-3 1- 6685001
800 #: N/A
e-mail: info@irishheart.ie
Home page: http://www.irishheart.ie
- Kids With Heart National Association for Children's Heart Disorders, Inc.
P.O Box 12504
Green Bay WI 54307-2504
Phone #: 920-498-0058
800 #: 800-538-5390
e-mail: michelle@kidswithheart.org
Home page: http://www.kidswithheart.org
- Little Hearts, Inc.
P.O. Box 171
110 Court Street, Suite 3A
Cromwell CT 06416
Phone #: 860-635-0006
800 #: 866-435-4673
e-mail: info@littlehearts.org
Home page: http://www.littlehearts.org
- Montgomery Heart Foundation for Cardiomyopathy
1830 E. Monument St./Suite 7300
Baltimore MD 21205
Phone #: 402-502-2578
800 #: --
e-mail: njohnso5@jhmi.edu
Home page: http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/cardiomyopathy/
- NIH/National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute Information Center
P.O. Box 30105
Bethesda MD 20824-0105
Phone #: 301-592-8573
800 #: --
e-mail: nhlbiinfo@rover.nhlbi.nih.gov
Home page: N/A
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