Genetic variants are the leading cause of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Data on genetic testing in DCM from Central European populations are scarce. We sought to determine the genetic architecture of DCM in Poland and assess its influence on clinical characteristics and prognosis. The study included 280 DCM patients (mean age 39 years, 32% females) who underwent next-generation sequencing or in whom disease-causing variants were identified using single-gene testing. DCM-related variants were identified in 46% of patients. Variants in TTN and LMNA genes were most frequent (18% and 8% of the study cohort, respectively), other genes with variant frequency ≥2% included DSP, MYH7, SCN5A, FLNC, BAG3, and DMD. Positive family history, atrio-ventricular block or atrial arrhythmias were found more often in causative variant carriers whereas the frequency of left bundle branch block or hypertension was lower. Severe DCM and a composite end-point (cardiovascular death, heart transplant, left ventricular assist device implantation) occurred with similar frequency in gene-negative DCM and TTN-related DCM whereas the prognosis was worse in the remaining variant carriers. The risks of severe DCM and the composite endpoint were 2.4- and 3.0-fold higher, respectively, for LMNA-related DCM and 2.3- and 2.0-fold higher for variants in other genes. The distribution of causative variants in Polish DCM patients is similar to that in Western European cohorts. The presence of causative variants in genes other than TTN is associated with a poorer prognosis.
Chmielewski et al. (Mon,) studied this question.