Dilated Cardiomyopathy
Dilated
cardiomyopathy is the most common type of
cardiomyopathy, and also called congestive cardiomyopathy. In DCM, the
heart is enlarged in size and its walls tend to be thin (thus the term
dilated). 
The
image below shows marked dilatation of the ventricles compared to the size
of the atria.
There are may causes that produce globular dilatation of the left ventricle.
Epidemiologic studies have implicated viruses in the pathogenesis of dilated cardiomyopathy. Some viruses have been cultured and many others have been detected by amplification of the viral nucleic acid from myocardium.
Some of the viruses implicated in DCM include: Enteroviruses (coxsackie and ECHO), influenza, adenoviruses, Parvovirus B19 and HIV. In Japan Hepatitis C virus has been associated to DCM. The human immunodeficiency virus HIV1 has also been found in the heart.
In some instances DCM runs in families and several genes have been found to have mutations and, thus though to be causative of DCM in these patients.
