Inherited Cardiomyopathies: Genetics and Clinical Genetic Testing

Inherited cardiomyopathies are major causes of morbidity and mortality and include a group of cardiac disorders such as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), dilated cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C), left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC), and restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM). These diseases have a substantial genetic component and predispose to sudden cardiac death. Since the first gene was identified as a disease-causing gene for HCM over two decades ago, more than eighty genes have been identified to be associated with inherited cardiomyopathies and genetic testing has become prevalent in making clinical diagnosis. With the advent of next-generation sequencing technology, genetic panel testing of inherited cardiomyopathies has become feasible and cost efficient. In this review, we summarize the individual cardiomyopathies with the emphasis on cardiomyopathy genetics and genetic testing.