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What is cardiomyopathy?
What are the signs of cardiomyopathy?
What causes cardiomyopathy?
How does my doctor tell if I have cardiomyopathy?
How is cardiomyopathy treated?
What is cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy is a disease that damages the heart so it can't pump blood properly. Although it is not common, cardiomyopathy is a leading cause of heart failure, and the top reason for heart transplants.
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What are the signs of cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy often goes unrecognized and untreated. Unlike most other heart problems, it often affects young people.
Symptoms of cardiomyopathy include:
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Shortness of breath |
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Chest pain, or angina |
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Fainting (syncope), especially after exertion |
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Feeling dizzy or lightheaded, especially after exertion |
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Heart palpitations, or a "flopping" in the chest |
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High blood pressure |
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Swelling in the legs, abdomen (belly), ankles, or other body parts, as with congestive heart failure |
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Feeling tired or fatigued |
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Loss of appetite |
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Decreased alertness |
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Low amount of urine during the daytime, and an increased need to urinate at night |
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What causes cardiomyopathy?
Common types of cardiomyopathy, and their causes:
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Dilated cardiomyopathy weakens the walls of the heart's chambers. Most patients with this kind of cardiomyopathy get congestive heart failure. Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common form of cardiomyopathy. Doctors often do not know its cause. |
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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy thickens the heart's walls so they can't work properly. It is often an inherited disease, and can affect people of all ages. It's most common in young adults. |
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Ischemic cardiomyopathy is caused by the scars left in the heart muscle after a heart attack. |
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Alcoholic cardiomyopathy is a type of dilated cardiomyopathy caused by the toxic effect of heavy drinking. |
Cardiomyopathy can also be caused by viral infections, exposure to toxins, lack of vitamins in one's diet, and extremely high blood pressure.
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How does my doctor tell if I have cardiomyopathy?
A doctor may look for signs of cardiomyopathy using one, or several, of these tests
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In an angiography, the doctor injects dye into the heart arteries and measures the blood flow and blood pressure in the heart chambers. With the patient awake and under pain medicine, the doctor inserts a thin, flexible tube called a catheter into an artery in the leg, and guides it into the heart. X-ray dye can be injected directly into the pumping chambers of the heart to assess their function and diagnose cardiomyopathy. |
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An echocardiogram uses sound waves to make a picture of your heart. Your doctor sees this image on a television monitor, and can examine how well your heart works. The test takes about 45 minutes, and is painless. |
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A chest X-ray will tell if your heart is enlarged and if you have fluid in or around your lungs—signs of congestive heart failure. |
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How is cardiomyopathy treated?
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Medications |
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Diuretics rid your body of extra fluid |
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Beta-blockers decrease the heart rate and lower blood pressure by blocking the effects of adrenalin |
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ACE inhibitors and angiotensin II inhibitors open arteries and reduce the workload of the heart |
| Surgical |
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Some patients may need a special biventricular pacemaker implanted in their chests. The device helps make the heart's left and right bottom chambers (ventricles) more efficient. |
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Severe cases require a heart transplant. |
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