Cardiomyopathy in children – clinical, genetic and morphological aspects

Cardiomyopathy is one of serious and complex problems of pediatric cardiology. Many of them are the cause of sudden death and are familial in character. Disappointing statistics increases the relevance of the problem of cardiomyopathy and dictates the need for in-depth study of the etiology and pathogenesis, structural bases and experience in clinical and morphological diagnosis of this pathology in children. Of particular importance from a practical point of view is the development of prognostic factors in primary and secondary cardiomyopathies. This literature review provides information on the etiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, pathomorphological changes and outcomes of such cardiomyopathies as hypertrophic, dilated cardiomyopathies, non-compact left ventricular myocardium and histiocytoid cardiomyopathy. Peculiarities of restructure of the myocardium in the analyzed cardiomyopathies and their relationship with systolic and diastolic myocardial dysfunction are shown. Molecular genetic aspects of diagnosis of etiology and pathogenesis of this pathology in children are given in detail. The necessity of systematic pathomorphological study of the heart with full analysis of contractile, conducting microcirculatory and neuroautonomic structures in considered variants of cardiovascular pathology is emphasized. These data will help outline future research priorities for this group of diseases to provide earlier diagnosis, improve clinical outcomes and the quality of life of these children and their families.