Does echocardiographic evaluation identify preclinical disease in asymptomatic relatives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy?
Echocardiographic screening of asymptomatic relatives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy is recommended as it successfully identifies preclinical disease and risk for progression.
Treatable asymptomatic dilated cardiomyopathy was identified in 4.6% of asymptomatic relatives. In addition, left ventricular enlargement and depressed fractional shortening were common in asymptomatic relatives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy and were associated with a statistically significant medium-term risk for disease progression. Evaluation of relatives of patients with cardiomyopathy is recommended.
Mahon et al. (2005) studied this question.