Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy
is any disease of the heart muscle in which the
heart loses its ability to pump blood effectively.
In some instances, heart rhythm is disturbed and
leads to arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats). There
may be multiple causes of cardiomyopathy, including
viral infections. Sometimes, the exact cause of
the muscle disease is never found.
Cardiomyopathy
differs from many of the other disorders of the
heart in several ways, including the following:
- Cardiomyopathy can,
and often does, occur in the young.
- The condition affects
about 50,000 Americans (adults and children).
- The condition tends
to be progressive and sometimes worsens fairly
quickly.
- It may be associated
with diseases involving other organs, as well
as the heart.
- Cardiomyopathy is a
leading cause for heart transplantation.
Viral
infections that infect the heart are a major cause
of cardiomyopathy. In some instances, cardiomyopathy
is a result of another disease or its treatment,
such as complex congenital (present at birth)
heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, uncontrollable,
fast heart rhythms, or certain types of chemotherapy
for childhood cancers. Sometimes, cardiomyopathy
can be linked to a genetic abnormality. Other
times, the cause is unknown. Three types of cardiomyopathy
affect adults.
Hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy occurs when the muscle mass of
the left ventricle of the heart is larger than
normal, or the wall between the two ventricles
(septum) becomes enlarged and obstructs the blood
flow from the left ventricle. Because it prevents
the heart from properly relaxing between beats,
it fills with blood, which eventually limits the
pumping action. A heart murmur may be heard.
- This is a rare disease
and in most cases it is inherited.
- It can affect men and
women of all ages, and symptoms can appear in
childhood or adulthood
- Symptoms include shortness
of breath on exertion, dizziness, fainting,
and angina pectoris.
- Some patients experience
cardiac arrhythmias, which may lead to sudden
death.
Dilated
cardiomyopathy is the most frequent form of non-ischemic
cardiomyopathy. The cavity of the heart is enlarged
and stretched (cardiac dilation) causing the heart
to become weak and not pump normally.
- This occurs most often
in middle-aged people and more often in men
than women, but has been diagnosed in people
of all ages, including children.
- Most patients develop
congestive heart failure.
- Dilated cardiomyopathy
can be caused by chronic, excessive consumption
of alcohol along with dietary deficiencies.
- It occasionally occurs
as a complication of pregnancy and childbirth.
- Other suggested causes
are: various infections (mostly viral, which
lead to an inflammation of the heart muscle,
called myocarditis), toxins, and (rarely) heredity.
Sometimes drugs used to treat a different medical
condition can damage the heart and produce dilated
cardiomyopathy. However, in most cases, a specific
cause for the damage is never identified.
Restrictive
cardiomyopathy, the least common type of cardiomyopathy
in the US, occurs when the myocardium of the ventricles
becomes excessively rigid, and the filling of
the ventricles with blood between heart beats
is impaired.
- It usually results
from another disease, which occurs elsewhere
in the body.
- Restrictive cardiomyopathy
does not appear to be inherited, but some of
the diseases that lead to the condition are
genetically transmitted.
- Symptoms may include
fatigue, swelling of the extremities, and difficulty
breathing on exertion.
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