Heart Disease - Cardiomyopathy : Type, Causes and Symptoms

WHAT IS CARDIOMYOPATHY?

·         Diseases of the heart muscle.

·         Heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick, or rigid.

·         In rare cases, the muscle tissue in the heart is replaced with scar tissue.

·         Worsens; the heart becomes weaker. It’s less able to pump blood through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. This can lead to heart failure or irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias.

·         Heart failure can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, ankles, feet, legs, or abdomen.

·         The weakening of the heart also can cause other complications such as heart vaive problems.

The types of cardiomyopathy are :

·         Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

·         Dilated cardiomyopathy

·         Restrictive cardiomyopathy

·         Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia

·         Unclassified cardiomyopathy

These disease can be acquired or inherited. In the other words, ”acquired” means you are not born with this disease, but  you develop it due to another disease, condition, or factor. “Inherited” means your parents paseed the gene for the disease on to you.Many times the cause of cardiomyopathy is not known.

Cardiomyopathy can affect people of all ages. However, people in certain age groups are more likely to have certain types of cardiomyopathy.

WHAT ARE THE CAUSES OF CARDIOMYOPATHY?

Many times, the cause of cardiomyopathy is not known. This often is the case when the disease occurs in children.

1.    Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

·         Usually inherited.

·         Caused by a mutation or change in some of the genes in heart muscle proteins.

·         Can develop over time because of high blood pressure, aging, or other diseases such as diabetes or thyroid disease.

·         Sometimes the cause of the disease is not known.

2.    Dilated Cardiomyopathy

·         Often is not known the causes.

·         One-third inherit it from their parents.

·         Certain diseases, conditions, and substances also can cause the diasease, such as :-

Ø  Alcohol, especially if you also have a poor diet

Ø  Certain toxins, such as poisons and heavy metals

Ø  Complications during the last months of pregnancy

Ø  Coronory heart disease, heart attack, high blood pressure, diabetes, thyroid disease, viral hepatitis, and HIV

Ø  Illegal drugs, such as cocaine and amphetamines, and some medicines used to treat cancer

Ø  Infections, especially viral infections that inflame the heart muscle

3.    Restrictive Cardiomyopathy

·         Certain diseases, conditions, and factors can cause restrictive cardiomyopathy,including :-

Ø  Amyloidosis

Ø  Connective tissue disorders

Ø  Hemochromatosis

Ø  Sarcoidosis

Ø  Some cancer treatments, such as radiation and chemotherapy

4.    Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia

·         Researchers think that arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia is an inherited disease.

WHAT ARE THE SYMPTOMS OF

CARDIOMYOPATHY?

Some people with this disease have no signs or symptoms and need no treatment.For other people, cardiomyopathy develops quickly, symptoms are severe, and serious complications occur.

As cardiomyopathy worsens and the heart weakens, sign and symptoms of heart failure usually occur.These signs and symptoms include :

·         Shortness of breath or trouble breathing, especially with physical exertion

·         Fatigue (tiredness)

·         Swelling in the ankles, feets, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neck

Others signs and symptoms may include :

·         Dizziness

·         Light-headedness

·         Fainting during physical activity

·         Arrhythmias

·         Chest pain

·         Heart murmurs