Endomyocardial Fibrosis

Endomyocardial Fibrosis
Synonyms
Disorder Subdivisions
General Discussion
Resources
For a Complete Report

Content provided by National Organization for Rare Disorders

Important

It is possible that the main title of the report Endomyocardial Fibrosis is not the name you expected. Please check the synonyms listing to find the alternate name(s) and disorder subdivision(s) covered by this report.

Synonyms

Davies' Disease
EMF
Fibroelastic Endocarditis
Loeffler Endomyocardial Fibrosis with Eosinophilia
Loeffler Fibroplastic Parietal Endocarditis
Loeffler's Disease

Disorder Subdivisions

Left Ventricular Fibrosis
Right Ventricular Fibrosis
Biventricular Fibrosis

General Discussion

Endomyocardial fibrosis (EMF) is a progressive disease of unknown origin (idiopathic) that may seriously affect the heart. Its most obvious feature is a gross change in the makeup of the lining of the heart cavities (the endocardium) of one or both of the lower chambers of the heart (the ventricles) leading to the replacement of normal cells with fibrous tissue (fibrosis). This process is progressive and leads to the narrowing (constriction) of the right or left ventricular cavities. It may involve the valves between the chambers of the heart as well as the tendon-like cords that fix the valves to the ventricles (chordae tendineae).

Loeffler's disease is a disease of the heart much like endomyocardial fibrosis. Some clinicians regard it as an early stage of EMF, although this idea remains controversial. Loeffler’s disease is a rare disorder of unknown origin, characterized by abnormal increases in the number of particular white blood cells (eosinophilia), and like EMF, gross fibrosis of the endocardium, and inflammation of small blood vessels (arteritis).

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Resources

American Heart Association

National Center

7272 Greenville Avenue

Dallas, TX 75231-4596

Tel: (214)373-6300

Fax: (214)373-0268

Tel: (800)242-8721

Email: inquire@heart.org

Internet: http://www.americanheart.org

Congenital Heart Anomalies, Support, Education, & Resources

2112 North Wilkins Road

Swanton, OH 43558

Tel: (419)825-5575

Fax: (419)825-2880

Email: chaser@compuserve.com

Internet: http://www.csun.edu/~hcmth011/chaser/chaser-news.html

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

1600 Clifton Road NE

Atlanta, GA 30333

Tel: (404)639-3534

Tel: (800)311-3435

Email: http://www.cdc.gov/netinfo.htm

Internet: http://www.cdc.gov/

NIH/Developmental Endocrinology Branch

Bldg 10, Room 10N262

10 Center Drive

Bethesda, MD 20892

Tel: (301)496-4686

Fax: (301)402-0574

For a Complete Report

This is an abstract of a report from the National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc. ® (NORD). A copy of the complete report can be obtained for a small fee by visiting the NORD website. The complete report contains additional information including symptoms, causes, affected population, related disorders, standard and investigational treatments (if available), and references from medical literature. For a full-text version of this topic, see http://www.rarediseases.org/search/rdblist.html

The information provided in this report is not intended for diagnostic purposes. It is provided for informational purposes only. NORD recommends that affected individuals seek the advice or counsel of their own personal physicians.
It is possible that the title of this topic is not the name you selected. Please check the Synonyms listing to find the alternate name(s) and Disorder Subdivision(s) covered by this report.
This disease entry is based upon medical information available through the date at the end of the topic. Since NORD's resources are limited, it is not possible to keep every entry in the Rare Disease Database completely current and accurate. Please check with the agencies listed in the Resources section for the most current information about this disorder.
For additional information and assistance about rare disorders, please contact the National Organization for Rare Disorders at P.O. Box 1968, Danbury, CT 06813-1968; phone (203) 744-0100; web site www.rarediseases.org or email orphan@rarediseases.org

Last Updated: 2/4/2003

Copyright 1986, 1989, 2003 National Organization for Rare Disorders, Inc.

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Last updated:	February 04, 2003

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