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 factorsCommon types of cardiomyopathy include:
Common causes of cardiomyopathy are:
Please see the linked articles for details on a specific type of cardiomyopathy:
When the cause of dilated cardiomyopathy can be identified, efforts are aimed at treating that condition (for example, treating high blood pressure or coronary artery disease, or stopping alcohol or cocaine use). Sometimes, 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:
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:
The disorder is long-term (chronic) and the condition may get worse very quickly.
ReferencesHare JM. The dilated, restrictive, and infiltrative cardiomyopathies. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP, eds. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. St. Louis, Mo: WB Saunders; 2007:chap 64.
Bernstein D. Diseases of the myocardium. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 439.
Wexler RK, Elton T, Pleister A, Feldman D. Cardiomyopathy: An overview. Am Fam Physician. 2009;79:778-784.