Towards a New Classification of Cardiomyopathies

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of this paper is to briefly summarise the clinical approach to disease notation for cardiomyopathies and to highlight its limitations with respect to the integration of new knowledge about aetiology. RECENT FINDINGS: The paper uses the recently advocated concept of arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy as an example of the limitations of current classification systems. SUMMARY: At present, there is no single classification system that meets the needs of all potential users, whether they are basic scientists, clinicians, patients or families. The classical cardiomyopathy subtypes still have utility, but future disease notation needs to be modified to take into account the new and more complete phenotypes and aetiologies.