Phenotyping early dilated cardiomyopathy: An essential step for precision therapy

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle, where it becomes stretched and weak. It is one of the most common causes of heart failure and heart transplant. Heart failure is a late feature of dilated cardiomyopathy and happens when the heart is unable to pump enough blood around the body. Our current treatment of dilated cardiomyopathy focuses on the management of heart failure. Yet, we diagnose many individuals before this point. Little is known about how to prevent the development of heart failure.



We hope to better understand the early stages of dilated cardiomyopathy and discover therapies to prevent heart failure. We know that in late disease, the heart cells produce less energy and scar builds up in the tissue. This contributes to weakening of the pump. We will investigate whether these problems happen in early disease using specialised blood tests and a heart scan, known as an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging). We will study individuals with early dilated cardiomyopathy and those who carry genetic changes that makes them susceptible to developing the condition. This will allow us to understand the causes of early disease in different patients and select the best treatment for different forms of the condition.