Background Although fibrosis seems to be prognostic for adverse outcomes in adults with
idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC), little is known about the prevalence and
development of fibrosis in pediatric IDC hearts. We hypothesized that there is less activation
of fibrosis at a molecular level in pediatric IDC hearts than in failing adult hearts. Methods
and Results Pediatric hearts were analyzed histologically to determine the prevalence of
fibrosis. Left ventricular tissue from adult and pediatric IDC hearts and adult and pediatric …