CARDIAC INVOLVEMENT IN CERTAIN MUSCULAR D ISORDERS RESULTS IN 216 CASES

Myopathy may be associated with very variable cardiac involvement, the expression of which is related to the type of neuromuscular disease a nd also to the individual. This retrospective study, performed between 1986 and 1991, was undertaken to determine the prevalence of cardiac involvement in myopathy. A total of 216 subjects with an average age o f 34 years were reviewed bs' clinical examination, ECG, echocardiograp hy and Holter ECG monitoring. Some patients also underwent complementa ry radionucleide (scintigraphy, angiography) and electrophysiological investigations. The results confirmed cardiac disease in over a half o f patients. Although 3/4 of the patients were asymptomatic from the ca rdiac point of view at the time of evaluation, the severity of certain lesions led to a number of specific therapeutic interventions. This s uggests that simple, non-invasive cardiac diagnostic procedures should be undertaken systematically in the early stages of myopathic disease .