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(Circulation. 2007;115:76-83.)
© 2007 American Heart Association, Inc.

Heart Failure

Prospective Familial Assessment in Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Cardiac Autoantibodies Predict Disease Development in Asymptomatic Relatives

Alida L.P. Caforio, MD, PhD; Niall G. Mahon, MD; M. Kamran Baig, MD; Francesco Tona, MD, PhD; Ross T. Murphy, MD; Perry M. Elliott, MD; William J. McKenna, MD

From The Heart Hospital (A.L.P.C., N.G.M., M.K.B., R.T.M., P.M.E., W.J.M.), University College, London, United Kingdom. Drs Caforio and Tona are currently with the Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Dr Mahon is currently with Mater Misericordiae University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland; Dr Baig is currently with Nottingham City Hospital, Nottingham, United Kingdom; and Dr Murphy is currently with St James Hospital, Dublin, Ireland.

Correspondence to Alida L.P. Caforio, MD, PhD, Division of Cardiology, Department of Cardiological, Thoracic and Vascular Sciences, University of Padova-Policlinico, Centro V. Gallucci, Via Giustiniani, 2, 35128 Padova, Italy. E-mail alida.caforio{at}unipd.it

Received May 22, 2006; accepted November 1, 2006.

Background— In autoimmune disorders, circulating autoantibodies identify healthy relatives at risk years before clinical presentation. Healthy relatives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) who have echocardiographic changes, including left ventricular enlargement or depressed fractional shortening at baseline, have increased medium-term risk for DCM development. Approximately one third of relatives have serum anti-heart autoantibodies (AHAs) at baseline; we intended to assess their potential role in predicting DCM development.

Methods and Results— Baseline evaluation, including electrocardiography, echocardiography, and AHA, was performed in 592 asymptomatic relatives of 169 consecutive DCM patients (291 males and 301 females; mean age 36±16 years). Relatives were classified in accordance with published echocardiographic criteria; those who did not have DCM were followed up (median of 58 months). DCM among relatives was diagnosed by echocardiography at follow-up. Of the 592 individuals evaluated, 77% were assessed as normal, 4.4% as having DCM, and 19% as possibly affected on the basis of depressed fractional shortening without ventricular dilatation in 17 and left ventricular enlargement without systolic dysfunction in 94. Five-year follow-up of 311 relatives revealed that 26 had progressed (13 to DCM, 11 to left ventricular enlargement, and 2 to depressed fractional shortening). Relatives who developed DCM were more frequently AHA-positive than those who did not (69% versus 37%, P=0.02). Five-year probability of progression to DCM, among normal or possibly affected relatives, was higher in AHA-positive cases (P=0.03). By Cox regression, positive AHAs at baseline were independent predictors of progression (RR 2.26, CI 1 to 5.1, P=0.03).

Conclusions— Among healthy relatives of DCM patients, AHAs are independent predictors of disease development within 5 years.

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