BackgroundDilated cardiomyopathy is an important cause of morbidity and mortality among patients with congestive heart failure. Hemodynamic and prognostic characterization are critical in guiding selection of medical and surgical therapies.Methods and ResultsA cohort of 102 patients with the clinical diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy who underwent echocardiographic examination between 1986 and 1990 was identified and followed up through July 1, 1991. Patients with moderate or severe symptoms had lower indices of systolic function and greater left atrial and right ventricular dilation. Mitral inflow Doppler signals were characterized by a restrictive left ventricular filling pattern. In multivariate logistic regression analysis, deceleration time, ejection fraction, and peak E velocity were independently associated with symptom status. Over a mean follow-up of 36 months, 35 patients died. Kaplan-Meier estimated survival at 1, 2, and 4 years was 84%, 73%, and 61%, respectively, and was significantly poorer than that of an age- and sex-matched population. The subgroup with an ejection fraction < 0.25 and deceleration time < 130 milliseconds had a 2-year survival of only 35%. The subgroup with ejection fraction < 0.25 and deceleration time > 130 milliseconds had an intermediate 2-year survival of 72%, whereas patients with an ejection fraction ≥ 0.25 had 2-year survivals ≥ 95% regardless of deceleration time. In multivariate analysis, ejection fraction and systolic blood pressure were independently predictive of subsequent mortality. Mitral deceleration time was significant in univariate analysis.ConclusionsIn patients with the clinical diagnosis of dilated cardiomyopathy, markers of diastolic dysfunction correlated strongly with congestive symptoms, whereas variables of systolic function were the strongest predictors of survival. Consideration of both ejection fraction and deceleration time allowed identification of subgroups with divergent long-term prognoses.