A dilated cardiomyopathy with clear signs of left-ventricular functional abnormalities occurred in a 21-year-old man with known Duchenne's progressive muscular dystrophy. Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging delineated the regional disorder of ventricular wall motion and defined its segmental extent. With neither method was it possible to analyse texture with demonstration of differential regional involvement. As a noninvasive method echocardiography is suitable for diagnosing Duchenne's cardiomyopathy and monitoring its progression.