**1. Introduction**

The prevalence of heart failure is approximately 1–2% in the adult population and is 10% for those above the age of 70 years [1]. Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a common form of heart failure defined by dilatation of the left ventricle and reduced ejection fraction [2]. In later phases, dilation of the right ventricle and both atria is often seen, although this is not required for diagnosis. The disease confers a reduction in left ventricular ejection fraction but in early stages dilatation of the left ventricle can be seen with only minimal reduction of systolic function. Definitions vary, sometimes a distinction is made between ischemic and nonischemic DCM; however more often DCM refers to a disease that is not explained by coronary artery disease or abnormal loading conditions due to hypertension or valve defects [2]. With this definition the prevalence is at the least 1 in 2500 in the general population, which is likely an underestimation and some estimates refer the prevalence as high as 1 in 250 [3, 4]. In more than 20% of these patients a known disease causative mutation is found [3, 5]. Mutations in more than 50 different genes have been associated to DCM and some of the most common are the genes encoding for lamin A/C, titin, and desmin [1, 6]. Often the phenotype is the similar regardless of the causative mutation, therefore broad gene panels are used in genetic testing. Some genes however affect the conduction system and have been linked to an increase in sudden cardiac death.
