Hence, we hypothesized that a cardiomyopathy might develop in c-Kit mutant animals as they aged and we examined the stability of LV structure and function with echocardiography over the first year of life (i.e., until ∼middle age) in several groups of mice with Kit mutations (W/Wv and W41/W42) and in wild type (WT) mice. The gene discussed is KIT; the disease is cardiomyopathy.