Nonsense mutations in BAG3 are associated with early-onset dilated cardiomyopathy in French Canadians.

Background: Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a major cause of heart failure that may require heart transplantation. Approximately one third of DCM cases are familial. Next-generation DNA sequencing of large panels of candidate genes (ie, targeted sequencing) or of the whole exome can rapidly and economically identify pathogenic mutations in familial DCM.