Variability of Ventricular Mass, Volume, & Ejection Fraction in Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Patients-Pediatric Heart Network

BACKGROUND: Cardiomyopathy is an important cause of chronic disability and death in pediatric patients and currently accounts for approximately 50% of cardiac transplants performed during childhood. Left ventricular (LV) size and function are important independent predictors of outcome, and echocardiography is the primary way to assess ventricular function in children. Although there is extensive experience with this technology, data are limited on how ventricular function changes over time in children, which is a major impediment to conducting controlled trials of therapy in children. This study has been approved by the Institutional Review Boards/Research Ethics Boards of all participating clinical centers: Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Canada Children's Hospital Boston, Boston, MA Columbia College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, NY Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC Brody School of Medicine at East Carolina University, Greenville, NC Wake Forest Baptist Medical Center, Winston Salem, NC Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC Primary Children's Medical Center, Salt Lake City, UT Washington University, St. Louis, MO DESIGN NARRATIVE: This observational study will prospectively evaluate pediatric patients with dilated cardiomyopathy who are undergoing clinically indicated echocardiographic evaluation of LV function. Patients who undergo at least two echocardiograms 3 to 18 months apart will have their studies performed by the same ultrasonographer. All studies will be sent to the core laboratory for evaluation of variability in LV mass, volume, and ejection fraction.