Epidemiologic and clinical characteristics of cardiomyopathies in Japan - Results from nationwide surveys

Nationwide clinico-epidemiological surveys of cardiomyopathies in Japan were carried out. Disorders surveyed included idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD), mitochondrial disease, Fabry's disease of the heart and prolonged Q-T interval syndrome. The total number of patients was estimated at 17,700 for DCM, 21,900 for HCM, 300 for RCM, 520 for ARVD, 640 for mitochondrial disease, 150 for Fabry's disease of the heart, and 1,000 for prolonged Q-T interval syndrome. The prevalence of both DCM and HCM was higher in men than women: the male-to-female ratios were 2.6 and 2.3 for DCM and HCM, respectively. Detailed data on patients with DCM or HCM were collected by a follow-up survey. In 1 year more patients with DCM (5.6%) died than with HCM (2.8%): congestive heart failure (CHF) and arrhythmias were the leading causes of death for DCM and HCM, respectively. Angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (64.6%) and beta-adrenergic blockers (40.9%) are commonly used to treat the CHF complicating DCM and may be associated with the clinical improvement in a significant number of DCM patients. Thus, the nationwide surveys of Japanese patients have yielded important current epidemiological and clinical information on the characteristics of cardiomyopathies in Japan.