Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy causes your heart to become too weak to be able to pump blood around your body properly.
Cardio means heart, myo means muscle and opathy means wasting.
Sometimes this can cause the heart to have an irregular rhythm (arrhythmias) .
Occasionally children can develop cardiomyopathy. Sometimes there is no known reason for why cardiomyopathy develops. Sometimes it can be due to viral illness, excessive alcohol consumption.
There is also a type of cardiomyopathy called HOCM (Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy) which runs in some families.
There are two different types of cardiomyopathy.
Dilated (congestive) Cardiomyopathy.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HOCM).
There is also a rare temporary form of cardiomyopath known as Takotsubo cardiomyopathy.
TYPE 1: Dilated (congestive) cardiomyopathy
The weakened heart muscle is unable to pump blood efficiently, so your heart works harder to compensate. By working harder the heart muscle becomes larger and thinner.
Dilated cardiomyopathy :
· Is the most common type of cardiomyopathy.
· Affects more men than women
· Normally happens during middle-age years although it can happen at any age, even in childhood.
· Can occur in women as a complication of childbirth.
Causes
Sign and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
What causes it?
In most cases no cause for the disease is found. However, it can be caused by:
· Drinking too much alcohol over a period of time, particularly if you have an unhealthy diet as well.
· Viral infections which cause inflammation of the heart muscle (known as myocarditis).
· Occasionally cardiomyopathy can run in families.
What are the signs and symptoms of cardiomyopathy?
Dilated cardiomyopathy may build up over several years and not cause you significant problems.
Over time the enlarged heart gradually weakens. This is called heart failure.
Heart failure has several causes, cardiomyopathy is one of them.
Signs and symptoms of heart failure include:
- fatigue
- weakness
- shortness of breath
- coughing, particularly when lying down
- swelling of your legs and feet, as a result of fluid building up - this may also affect other parts of your body.
- weight gain due to your body retaining fluid
- irregular heartbeats, which can be serious and even life threatening.
How is it diagnosed?
Once you have symptoms, the condition may be diagnosed from the doctor's examination and your medical history.
Often further tests are needed confirm that cardiomyopathy is definitely the cause of your heart failure. This may include:
- chest x-ray to show whether the heart is enlarged
- electrocardiogram (ECG) which shows abnormal electrical activity in your heart
- echocardiogram which shows how well your heart is pumping
- Blood tests
How is cardiomyopathy treated?
Since dilated cardiomyopathy is hard to diagnose early, it is usually only treated when it is quite advanced.
Treatment of heart failure aims to:
- if possible, to treat the cause of the heart failure
- lessen the heart's workload and help it work more effectively
- treat any other medical problems which may be making your heart failure worse
There is no known cure, but symptoms can be greatly improved by:
· Improving your lifestyle, especially decreasing your alcohol consumption if you drink more than 2 standard drinks a day, losing weight, eating less salt. ·Taking medications regularly to improve your symptoms.
TYPE 2: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HOCM)
Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is a rare disease that can affect men, women and children.
The development of the heart muscle is abnormal and causes the walls of the heart to become thickened.
The thickened heart walls:
· Make the heart's pumping chamber smaller and less efficient
· Limit blood flow.
· Prevent the heart from properly re-filling with blood inbetween beats.
· Prevent enough blood is being pumped around the body.
Causes
Signs and Symptoms
Diagnosis
Treatment
What causes it?
Most cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy run in families. For this reason, once you have been diagnosed with this disease, your family members are usually checked for signs of it, although the symptoms may be much less obvious in them, or they may have no symptoms at all. Sometimes there is no clear cause for the cardiomyopathy.
What are the signs and symptoms?
Many people have no symptoms. For those who do, the most common are:
. fatigue
. weakness
. shortness of breath
. coughing, particularly when lying down
. swelling of your legs and feet, as a result of fluid building up - this may also affect other parts of your body.
. weight gain due to your body retaining fluid
. irregular heartbeats, which can be serious and even life threatening.
Sometimes the first and only sign of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be sudden collapse, caused by your heart beating so irregularly it puts your life in danger. Instead of beating properly, the heart quivers and blood stops being pumped around your body.
How is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosed?
By listening to your heart via a stethoscope, a doctor may hear the abnormal heart sounds which are typical of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Other tests may include:
- chest x-ray to show whether your heart is enlarged
- an electrocardiogram (ECG) which shows abnormal electrical activity in your heart
- echocardiogram which shows how well your heart is pumping
- blood tests
How is it treated?
Treatments for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy vary but can include the following:
· lifestyle changes: especially decreasing your alcohol consumption if you drink more than 2 standard drinks per day*, losing weight and improving your diet,
- patients with serious irregular heartbeat and blood-flow abnormalities may be advised not to take part in strenuous physical activity
- medications
*A standard drink is 1 can beer (100-120ml) OR 1 glass of wine OR 1 standard nip (30ml) of spirits.
Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a rare form of cardiomyopathy, sometimes referred to as ‘stress cardiomyopathy’ or ‘broken-heart syndrome’. Takotsubo (meaning octopus in Japanese), refers to the fact that the left ventricle of the heart forms a shape of a fish pot used for trapping octopus. Someone affected by it usually has no history of heart disease and has a sudden onset of chest pain or pressure. Takotsubo cardiomyopathy usually affects women (over 90% of cases) and often follows acute emotional stress, such as the death of a loved one. Usually people recover normal heart function within a few months.
More information
Click here to order your FREE copy of Living with Heart Failure
The following website have some useful information.
Cardiomyopathy Association of Australia Ltd http://www.cmaa.org.au or Cardiomyopathy Association (UK) www.cardiomyopathy.org
For information and support in New Zealand you can contact Andrea Fullerton, NZ contact for the Cardiomyopathy Association of Australia. Phone: (09) 416 1239 email: andreafullerton@yahoo.com.au
