Cardiomyopathy

What is Cardiomyopathy?

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle. Various medical disorders may cause Cardiomyopathy. There are many types of cardiomyopathy, but they all eventually have the same product. In cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle is weakened. It becomes unusually enlarged, thickened, or stiffened. As a result, the heart can not pump blood to the rest of the body, which causes heart failure. Sudden death can occur in many people who have heart disease. The condition usually begins in the heart’s ventricles (lower chamber), but in some cases it can occur in the atria (upper chamber) also.

Causes

Cardiomyopathy is caused by various medical disorders, drinking too much alcohol, eating foods without proper vitamins, exposure to toxins, heredity, and other things. Sometimes the exact cause of the disease is never found.

Symptoms

Symptoms of cardiomyopathy can occur in different ways. Some people who have cardiomyopathy have no symptoms and live a normal life. Others who have cardiomyopathy develop symptoms that are awfully painful. These symptoms can include:

- Exhaustion

- Chest pain or pressure (occurs after exercising, resting, or eating)

- Fainting

- Fast or irregular heartbeat

- Shortness of breath

- Dizziness

 

Treatment

The treatment for cardiomyopathy depends on what type of cardiomyopathy it is. In general, medications can help the heart pump well again. However, medications do not make a weak heart strong again. Medications may improve the strength of the heartbeat, but they can't reverse the disease in the muscle. Still, some people who take medications have improved immensly. Some people with dilated cardiomyopathy get heart transplants. People with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may get an implant or heart surgery.

People it affects

Cardiomyopathy is a health problem that kills many men and women. People every day suffer from heart failure. Nearly three million people are living with cardiomyopathy, and about 400,000 are diagnosed with it each year. As the population increases, the occurrence of cardiomyopathy is expected to spread throughout many more people.

This is an example of how the heart changes after one is affected by cardiomyopathy.

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