Pathologic anatomy of the dilated cardiomyopathies.

Dilated cardiomyopathies are characterized by systolic pump failure and by dilatation of the ventricular cavity. Thus, they differ from the other 2 main types of cardiomyopathies, namely, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and restrictive/obliterative cardiomyopathy. The term dilated cardiomyopathy designates a number of heterogeneous syndromes: idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, alcoholic cardiomyopathy, postpartal cardiomyopathy, infantile cardiomyopathy with histiocytoid change in cardiac muscle cells, anthracycline cardiomyopathy, Keshan disease, and several ultrastructurally distinct abnormalities, some of which maybe familial. The pathologic features of these syndromes are reviewed in detail.