Cardiomyopathy

Every day your heart pumps the equivalent of 2,000 gallons of blood throughout your body and creates enough energy to drive a truck 20 miles! It’s no wonder the heart is the most important muscle in the body. But certain conditions can affect how well it works. Weakening or disease of your heart muscle is called cardiomyopathy.

The most common types of cardiomyopathy are:

• ischemic cardiomyopathy—caused by heart attack and coronary artery disease
• dilated cardiomyopathy—caused by a variety of heart toxins, including viruses and genetic conditions
• hypertrophic cardiomyopathy —caused by genetic conditions and hypertension, and results in a thickening of the heart muscle
• restrictive cardiomyopathy —caused by a variety of conditions and results in the heart muscle becoming stiff

Each type makes it difficult for your heart to pump blood effectively and can lead to heart failure.

Depending on the type you have, cardiomyopathy can be something that runs in families (inherited), or it can be caused by things such as heart or kidney disease, alcoholism, or infections. Treatment can also vary and may include medications, lifestyle changes (like diet and exercise) and use of a pacemaker. Use the condition center to learn more about cardiomyopathy, its different types, and common symptoms and treatments.

Topic Overview

Cardiomyopathy is a disease that affects the heart muscle and the way it pumps. There are different types of cardiomyopathies. And these types have different causes. Cardiomyopathy may occur as a result of damage to the heart, such as from a heart attack, or a person may inherit the tendency to develop it.

What are the types?

Some types of cardiomyopathies are:

• The chambers of the heart enlarge and weaken. This type includes alcoholic cardiomyopathy and also peripartum cardiomyopathy, which can happen during or after pregnancy.
• Restrictive cardiomyopathy.The heart muscle gets stiff.
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.The heart muscle thickens and cannot relax properly.

There are many other types of cardiomyopathy that can be classified by what causes the heart muscle problem. For example, inflammation of the heart muscle can cause inflammatory cardiomyopathy. A heart rhythm problem can cause tachycardia-induced cardiomyopathy. A stressful event can cause takotsubo (stress) cardiomyopathy in which a heart chamber changes shape and cannot pump blood normally.

What happens?

For some cardiomyopathies, the changes in the heart muscle can lead to other heart problems such as heart failure. Heart failure means the heart cannot pump blood normally. When the heart cannot pump blood well, the rest of the body may not get enough blood, oxygen, or nutrients. Cardiomyopathy can also lead to other heart problems such as atrial fibrillation, which is a type of irregular heartbeat.

How is it treated?

Treatment for cardiomyopathy depends on the type of cardiomyopathy and the type of heart problems that occur as a result of the changes in the heart muscle. Treatment typically includes medicine and healthy lifestyle changes.