Health Encyclopedia

Cardiomyopathy

Definition

Cardiomyopathy is a weakening of the heart muscle or a change in heart muscle structure. It is often associated with inadequate heart pumping or other heart function problems.

Causes, incidence, and risk factors

Common types of cardiomyopathy include:

Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged. It cannot pump blood efficiently. Many different medical problems can cause this type of cardiomyopathy.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy refers to a group of disorders in which the heart chambers are unable to properly fill with blood because of stiffness in the heart.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a condition in which the heart muscle becomes thick. This thickening makes it harder for blood to leave the heart, forcing the heart to work harder to pump blood. This type of cardiomyopathy is passed down through families.

Common causes of cardiomyopathy are:

Alcoholism and cocaine use
Chemotherapy drugs
Pregnancy
Genetic defects
Amyloidosis
End-stage kidney disease
Infections due to viruses, HIV, Lyme disease, Chagas disease
Long-term, severe high blood pressure
Nutritional deficiencies (such as selenium, thiamine, calcium)
Systemic lupus erythematosus

Please see the linked articles for details on a specific type of cardiomyopathy:

Dilated cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Restrictive cardiomyopathy
Ischemic cardiomyopathy
Peripartum cardiomyopathy (occurs during or in the first 5 months after pregnancy)

Treatment

When the cause of the dilated cardiomyopathy can be identified, efforts are aimed at treating that condition (for example, stopping alcohol or cocaine use). Often, no specific cause can be identified.

Attempts are also made to find a "trigger" that may have caused a patient's symptoms to suddenly get worse. Examples include:

Not taking medications correctly
Increasing salt or fluid intake
Drinking alcohol

The overall treatment of cardiomyopathies is focused on treating heart failure. However, each type of cardiomyopathy may be treated differently.

Expectations (prognosis)

The outlook depends on many different things, including:

Severity of the heart problem
Type of cardiomyopathy
Cause of the cardiomyopathy
How well you respond to treatment

The disorder is long-term (chronic) and the condition may get worse very quickly.

References

Hare JM. The dilated, restrictive, and infiltrative cardiomyopathies. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Libby: Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2007: chap 64.

Review Date:4/28/2009
Reviewed By:Larry A. Weinrauch, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School, and Private practice specializing in Cardiovascular Disease, Watertown, MA. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

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