[The characteristics of cardiosclerosis in dilated cardiomyopathy].

Abstract

In 52 patients who had died of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCMP) severity of cardiosclerosis (CS) was studied in relation to the patients' age, possible etiological factors, disease duration, and heart weight. In DCMP, diffuse and diffuse small focal CS were common in all segments of the heart, including myocardial portions without macroscopically visible changes. Various types of CS in DCMP were seen in the left ventricular (92.3% cases), ventricular septum (86.5%) and right ventricle (68.2%). There are highly significant variations in the degree of CS in various patients with DC, however, different parts of the heart showed similar changes within the observation. No direct relationship was found between the cardiac weight and severity of CS. Diffuse CS prevailed in cases of DCMP with infective onset of disease. There was a direct relationship between the CS severity and disease duration in DCMP patients.