Cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease that makes it difficult for blood to be pumped throughout the body due to damage to the heart muscle. This condition can eventually lead to heart failure. There are various types of cardiomyopathy that a patient can have, but the treatment is usually fairly similar for each type. The severity of the cardiomyopathy dictates the treatment for each patient.
The symptoms of cardiomyopathy are:
Symptoms will often get worse over time without treatment. In some people, the condition can progress quickly, while in others, their symptoms might not grow worse for many years.
The cause of cardiomyopathy is not clear. In some cases, it appears that the condition is inherited, while in others, it is clearly acquired. There are health issues that are directly related to cardiomyopathy in some patients, such as:
There are a few different types of cardiomyopathies:
This type of cardiomyopathy impacts the heart’s left ventricle, making it enlarged, which makes it perform poorly. This kind of cardiomyopathy can impact people of all ages but is most common in middle-aged people and more common in men. This is the version of this condition that is often related to heart disease.
This version of the condition is caused by abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, which makes it hard for the heart to function. This condition affects the left ventricle the most. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is more severe if it occurs in childhood, but can develop at any age.
This cardiomyopathy causes the heart muscle to become stiff and less flexible. The heart cannot expand and contract well between heartbeats. This is the least common type of this condition, and it often impacts older people.
This version of this condition is very rare, and it impacts the right ventricle. This is a condition that causes extensive scar tissue in the right ventricle, which leads to problems with the heart’s rhythm. This cardiomyopathy is often linked to genetic changes.
A physical exam will be done to diagnose all types of cardiomyopathies. Chest x-rays might be taken, and an echocardiogram will usually also be done. In some cases, an electrocardiogram will be conducted in order to track the electrical signals from the heart.
Treadmill stress tests can be used to reveal the severity of the condition, or a cardiac MRI might be done to record images of the heart while it is at rest and under stress. Many doctors will also order blood tests and might want to do a genetic screening to see if there are genetic reasons for the symptoms that a person having.
Treatment of this condition varies due to the severity of the symptoms and damage to the heart muscle. Medications of various kinds can be used to help the heart pump blood and to improve blood flow to the body. If your heart rate is too fast, medications can also slow the heart rate. Diuretic medications can be used to remove extra fluids from the body, and many people are also placed on anti-clotting medications to prevent strokes and embolisms.
In some cases, procedures like ablations can be used to release scar tissue inside the heart that might have been caused by the condition. Surgery might also be done to help the heart to work better. Devices can be implanted that can help the heart to pump blood more effectively as well, such as a pacemaker or a ventricular assist device. Severe cases might require a heart transplant.
This condition cannot be prevented in most cases. The causes of this condition is not entirely understood. If you have conditions like diabetes or existing heart problems, you should ask your doctor about being monitored for the development of this condition.