[Cardiomyopathies, nonspecific myocarditis and alcoholic heart lesions (data from the clinical study of 100 patients)].
Echocardiography and immunological tests were applied to follow and examine 100 patients with grave non-coronarogenic myocardial lesions. Of these, 14 patients had hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (CMP) of the obstructive type, 21 hypertrophic non-obstructive CMP (symmetrical, apical, septal), 15 congestive CMP, 34 nonspecific myocarditis, and 16 alcoholic lesion of the heart. Congestive CMP, nonspecific myocarditis, and alcoholic lesion of the heart were characterized by some symptoms in common: dilatation of heart chambers, heart insufficiency, arrhythmias, thromboembolism. Myocarditis can be diagnosed according to the common and laboratory signs of inflammation, appearance of inflammatory pathology in other organs, changes in the immunological characteristics (reduction in the leukocyte migration index under the effect of cardiomyocyte membrane antigen), therapteutic effect of steroidal therapy. Alcoholic lesion of the heart can be recognized on case history specification (including the questioning of the subjects having relations with the patient), and identification of other symptoms of alcoholism. The possibility of making differential diagnosis of the diseases under consideration has been demonstrated.