February 22, 2024 — Approximately 1 in 250 Americans has dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). DCM is a type of inherited heart muscle disease that can cause heart failure at a young age. Family members of black patients with unexplained DCM are at greater risk of developing the disease than families of white patients, according to results of a multi-institutional study led by researchers at The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center and College of Medicine. is said to be high.

“Including Black families in this study was critical because most studies only include white people, even though Black people with DCM are at higher risk for hospitalization and death from heart failure. We do not yet know why families of black patients are at higher risk for DCM than families of white patients. It may be due to differences in genetics, comorbidities, or social determinants of health.” said Ray Hershberger, M.D., a cardiologist and chair of the Department of Human Genetics at The Ohio State University. He was the senior author of the study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Mr. Hershberger leads his DCM consortium, which is comprised of 25 of the nation’s leading academic heart failure/heart transplant programs that contributed to the study.

Using mathematical modeling techniques, researchers estimated that 30% of people with DCM have at least one first-degree family member (child, sibling, parent) with DCM. When stratified by self-proclaimed race, an estimated 39% of black patients and 28% of white patients had at least one first-degree family member with DCM.

The five-year study enrolled 1,220 patients with DCM, 44% of whom were women, 43% of whom were black, and 8% of whom were Hispanic, and included 1,693 of their first-degree relatives. The study estimated that approximately 1 in 5 first relatives of patients with idiopathic or unexplained DCM are at risk of developing the disease during their lifetime.

Dilated cardiomyopathy could be a silent killer

DCM is a condition in which the heart muscle weakens and the left ventricle enlarges. It is the most common cause of patients requiring heart transplantation and is responsible for about half of heart failure cases due to weakened left ventricle.

DCM can occur in families at almost any age, but the typical onset is in your mid-40s. The severity of symptoms may vary within families, with some family members having mild symptoms and others dying from arrhythmia that can cause heart failure or sudden cardiac death. Symptoms include shortness of breath on exertion, fatigue, edema of the legs and feet, and arrhythmia, which can be fatal.

“DCM can be silent for months to years before symptoms appear. Eventually, heart failure may develop, which is a terminal disease. Identifying DCM early and starting treatment “By doing so, we can slow progression and prevent sudden cardiac death,” Hershberger said.

Heart failure at age 26

Sharon Starks was just 26 years old when she first started showing signs of heart failure. She woke up at night with shortness of breath and the sound of gurgling water. Although she knew something was wrong, she was stunned to learn that she was infected with her DCM.

“I ended up going to the hospital and I coded a few times. It can be a silent killer and it’s very scary,” she said.

Starks now feels more connected to her family. His grandmother died when she was 29 years old, and his mother had double heart bypass surgery when she was 44 years old. Since her diagnosis, Starks has discussed the risks with her family and is making plans to have her son tested. The state he will be in when he gets older.

“It’s important to have these tests done and take them seriously. As families, sometimes we don’t talk to each other about what’s going on. Especially if there’s a family history of heart disease, families should definitely talk more.” you need to,” she said.

The Dilated Cardiomyopathy Consortium was funded by a $12.4 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health and an additional grant from the National Human Genome Research Institute. Computational infrastructure was provided for this study by the Ohio State University Human Genetics Data Management Platform Division and the Ohio Supercomputer Center. Mr. Hershberger is the Charles Austin Doan Medical Chairman.

For more information: https://wexnermedical.osu.edu/