Clinical Research Directory

Inclusion Criteria: * Meeting criteria for dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) : * Left ventricular ejection fraction \<50% * Left ventricular enlargement (A left ventricular end-diastolic dimension \> 95%tile population standard based on gender and height). * Detectable causes of cardiomyopathy, except genetic, excluded beyond a reasonable doubt at the time of DCM diagnosis (that is, meeting clinical criteria for idiopathic DCM) * Any age (including children) * Non-Hispanic and Hispanic ethnicity * All races (PI pre-approval required for recruitment beyond pre-specified recruitment targets). * Ability to give informed consent * Ability to communicate in English (except Spanish language at sites approved to recruit individuals of Hispanic ethnicity) * Willingness to participate in a family-based study (patient willing to work with a clinical site and/or OSU to facilitate the recruitment and enrollment of family members to the study). Exclusion Criteria: * Coronary artery disease (CAD) causing ischemic cardiomyopathy (\> 50% narrowing, any major epicardial coronary artery) * Primary valvular disease * Adriamycin or other cardiotoxic drug exposure * Other forms of cardiomyopathy: Hypertrophic, Restrictive, or Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia/Cardiomyopathy * Congenital heart disease * Other detectable causes of dilated cardiomyopathy, including sarcoid and hemochromatosis. * Other active multi-system disease that may cause DCM (e.g., active connective tissue disease). * Severe and untreated or untreatable hypertension (systolic blood pressures routinely greater than 180 mm Hg and/or diastolic blood pressures greater than 120 mm Hg, and if resistant to multidrug treatment). * However, conventional risk factors for DCM, including obesity, routinely treated hypertension, alcohol use, pregnancy or the peri-partum period, or left ventricular noncompaction, will NOT be considered exclusion criteria.