Main description:

In the last decade, genetics has been emerging as a primary issue in the diagnosis and management of cardiomyopathies. This book is intended to be a state-of-the-art monograph on these diseases, describing their genetic causes, defining the molecular basis and presenting extensive descriptions of genotype-phenotype correlations. Other chapters are focused on the role of clinical observation, on ECG and echocardiography. With its highlight on the most recent discoveries in the field of molecular genetics as well as on the correct clinical approach to patients with heart muscle disease, the book is aimed at physicians and clinical cardiologists with a particular interest in myocardial diseases and in their genetic causes.

Contents:

1 Introduction.- 2 Family History.- 3 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 1 - Cardiomyopathies and Skeletal Muscle Involvement.- 4 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 2 - Cardiomyopathies and Arrhythmias.- 5 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 3 - Cardiomyopathies, WPW Syndrome and Other ECG Abnormalities.- 6 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 4 - Cardiomyopathies and Sensorineural Hearing Loss.- 7 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 5 - Right Ventricular Involvement, Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy and Associated Phenotypes.- 8 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 6 - Left Ventricular Non-Compaction.- 9 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 7 - Syndromic and Multisystem Cardiomyopathies.- 10 The Role of Clinical Observation: Red Flag 8 - Cardiomyopathies in the First Year of Life and Paediatric Cardiomyopathies.- 11 Clinical Genetic Testing in Cardiomyopathies.- 12 Conclusive Remarks.