Prevalence of hepatitis C and B virus infection in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in Brazil: a pilot study

Abstract

The idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDMC) is a disease of the cardiac muscle characterized by systolic dilation and/or dysfunction of one or both ventricles, symptoms of congestive heart failure and risk of early death. Several studies in animal models and in humans have supported the hypothesis of the viral infection as initial event in the immunopathogenesis of the ventricular dilation. The objective of this study was to correlate the presence of hepatitis C virus chronic infection and idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, comparing samples of cases with IDCM with paired controls with Chagas-type specific dilated cardiomyopathy and ischemic-type specific dilated cardiomyopathy. Only 2.9% (1/34) of IDCM patients were HCV carriers, which strongly argue against this hypothesis. Therefore, based on our results, there is no justification for investigating HCV in patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy diagnosis.

Hepatitis C is Associated with High Levels of Circulating N-Terminal Pro-Brain Natriuretic Peptide and Interleukin-6

“…Other studies have suggested that HCY infection is frequently found in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy (1, 2). However, other studies were not able to find an association between HCY infection and dilated cardiomyopathy (14,15). In a retrospective study, it was shown that NTproBNP is a sensitive marker of myocardial injury in patients with HF from HCY myocarditis (4).…”

Cardiac Disorder in Chronic Hepatitis C

“…9 These figures were not reproduced in a multicenter study conducted in Italy, which found the presence of HCV-positive serology in 12 of 309 (3.9%) patients with DCM., 11 and in another study conducted in Brazil, which found only one case of HCV infection among 34 patients with DCM evaluated by a university hospital in Bahia. 12 The pathophysiology of DCM as a consequence of myocarditis due to hepatitis C virus could be explained by three mechanisms described below. The first was by direct action of the virus, reinforced by viral replication in the myocytes and by the fact that the HCV core protein could damage the structure of these cells.…”

Extrahepatic Manifestations of Hepatitis C Virus: An Extending List

“…A study was done in Italy reported a prevalence of hepatitis C antibodies in patients with cardiomyopathy to be 3.9%, [132]. A study from Brazil reported a prevalence of hepatitis C carrier state of 2.9% [133].…”