Endomyocardial biopsy study of cardiomyopathy in Poland.

The results of endomyocardial biopsy (EMB) are presented in 174 patients. Techniques and apparatus are described. EMB is safe and useful for diagnosing inflammatory myocarditis and as a guide to therapy. Unsuspected lymphocytic myocarditis was found in 17% of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy. The results confirm that the EMB findings in dilated cardiomyopathy are nonspecific and that restrictive cardiomyopathy is not confined to hypereosinophilic states and amyloid heart disease.