Clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic features of childhood cardiomyopathy in the United Arab Emirates

doi:10.4330/wjc.126026

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World Journal of Cardiology

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1949-8462

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Baishideng Publishing Group Inc, 7041 Koll Center Parkway, Suite 160, Pleasanton, CA 94566, USA

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Retrospective Cohort Study

Copyright: ©Author(s) 2026. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license. No commercial re-use. See permissions. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc.

World J Cardiol. Nov 26, 2026; 18(11): 126026
Published online Nov 26, 2026. doi: 10.4330/wjc.126026

Clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic features of childhood cardiomyopathy in the United Arab Emirates

Sulafa Ali, Ahmed Al Kamali, Sara F E Mohammed, Nahid Abdul Hameed, Reham Jasim, Raibeena Padayan

Sulafa Ali, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Sharjah, Sharjah 26262, Ash Shāriqah, United Arab Emirates

Ahmed Al Kamali, Sara F E Mohammed, Raibeena Padayan, Department of Pediatric Cardiology, Al Qassimi Women and Children’s Hospital, Sharjah 4511, Ash Shāriqah, United Arab Emirates

Nahid Abdul Hameed, Reham Jasim, Department of Pediatric, Al Qassimi Women and Children’s Hospital, Sharjah 4511, Ash Shāriqah, United Arab Emirates

Author contributions: Ali S contributed to study design, wrote the proposal and the first draft; Al Kamali A contributed to manuscript review and organization of the project; Mohammed SFE, Hameed NA, Jasim R, and Padayan R contributed to data collection and review of manuscript.

AI contribution statement: Authors confirm that artificial intelligence was used only for improving writing after careful revision.

Institutional review board statement: The study was approved by the Medical Ethics Committee of the Emirates Health System. Approval Reference No. MOHAP/DXB-Research Ethics Committee/A.M.S/No.71/2025. All data were kept confidential; only the research team had access to the data.

Informed consent statement: As this is a retrospective study, patient consent was not required.

Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.

STROBE statement: The authors have read the STROBE Statement—checklist of items, and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the STROBE Statement—checklist of items.

Data sharing statement: Data will be available upon request.

Corresponding author: Sulafa Ali, Full Professor, Department of Clinical Sciences, University of Sharjah, University City Road, Sharjah 26262, Ash Shāriqah, United Arab Emirates. sulafa.ali@sharjah.ac.ae

Received: July 24, 2026
Revised: September 21, 2026
Accepted: October 23, 2026
Published online: November 26, 2026
Processing time: 116 Days and 16.5 Hours

Abstract

BACKGROUND

Cardiomyopathy (CMP) is one of the main causes of heart failure in children. Genetic and metabolic etiology are common in regions with high consanguinity.

AIM

To describe the clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic features of childhood CMP in the United Arab Emirates.

METHODS

This retrospective cohort study was conducted at a tertiary care hospital in the United Arab Emirates, covering a period from 2020 to 2025. Historical data back to January 2013 were retrieved for survival analysis. All children with CMP were included. Demographic, clinical, electrocardiography (ECG), and echocardiography (echo) data were collected. Metabolic and genetic studies were included.

RESULTS

The study included 200 cases of CMP (60% were female). The cohort comprised 25 ethnic groups, with consanguinity status known for 70 families and positive in 31%. The most common age of presentation was 0-6 months. Syndromic features and neurodevelopmental delays were found in 28% and 33% of the cases, respectively. Long QT syndrome was diagnosed in 9% of the patients. Metabolic screening was positive in 15% of the cohort. The most common abnormalities were conditions associated with high lactate levels (31%), followed by conditions associated with high ammonia levels (15%). Genetic testing was positive in 21.5% of the cohort. The most common genetic abnormality was Noonan’s syndrome, followed by Alström and CHARGE syndromes; the latter, to our knowledge, has not been previously reported. Hypertrophic CMP (HCM) was the most common type (47%), followed by dilated CMP (36.5%), noncompaction CMP (14%), and restrictive CMP (2.5%). Patients with HCM presented significantly earlier and had more associated syndromic features (P < 0.041). There was statistically higher mortality in patients with noncompaction CMP associated with low EF or with HCM (combined) and a higher recovery rate in those with DCM (P < 0.05). The whole cohort mortality rate was 12%, and it was 25% for those with positive genetic testing. The mean (95%CI) of overall survival was 73.8 months. There were significantly lower survival rates in patients with edema.

CONCLUSION

In this highly consanguineous population, CMP is more prevalent in females and presents mostly in early infancy. The most common type is HCM. Genetic and metabolic disorders are common and are associated with higher mortality rates.

Keywords: Pediatric cardiomyopathy; Echocardiography; Electrocardiography; United Arab Emirates; Genetic; Metabolic

Core Tip: This retrospective study included 200 children with cardiomyopathy in a multiethnic, highly consanguineous population. It revealed a high prevalence in females presenting in young infancy, most commonly with the hypertrophic type. Genetic and metabolic disorders were detected in 21.5% and 15%, respectively. Mortality rates were higher for those with genetic disorders. The mean overall survival was 73.8 months. Genetic disorders included Noonan’s, Alstrom’s, and CHARGE syndromes. To our knowledge, the latter has not previously been reported.