Cardiac Involvement in Wilson's Disease

Heart damage by copper accumulation has been reported in Wilson's Disease. However, the disease epidemiology is still poorly understood. A number of studies on pediatric populations have not shown any significant cardiac involvement apart from early dysautonomia. This could suggest that the clinical manifestations related to the copper accumulation in the heart appears with the duration of the disease. Case-control studies on adult populations have highlighted various electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormalities more frequent in patients with Wilson's Disease than in healthy volunteers, but all these studies involved small number of patients (maximum 60). The hypothesis is that there is cardiac involvement in Wilson's Disease, requiring screening, follow-up and appropriate support.