heart and blood vessel disorders
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy
Diagnosis of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy
Echocardiography and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the heart Sometimes, cardiac catheterization and biopsy of the heart Restrictive cardiomyopathy is one of the possible causes investigated when a person has heart failure. The diagnosis is based largely on the combined results of a physical examination, electrocardiography (ECG), chest x-ray, and echocardiography. ECG can typically detect abnormalities in the heart’s electrical activity, but these abnormalities are not specific enough for a diagnosis. Echocardiography and Other Ultrasound Procedures shows that the atria (the upper chambers if the heart) are enlarged and that the heart is functioning normally only when the heart contracts (during systole). Doctors sometimes do Cardiac Catheterization and Coronary Angiography in people with severe symptoms, such as chest pain, difficulty breathing, or fainting. Cardiac catheterization is an invasive procedure in which a catheter is threaded from a blood vessel in the arm, neck, or leg into the heart. The procedure is used to measure pressures in the heart chambers and to remove a sample of heart muscle for examination under a microscope (biopsy), which may enable doctors to identify an infiltrating substance. Sometimes, other specialized tests may be needed to determine the disorder causing the cardiomyopathy. More than half the time, no specific cause for restrictive cardiomyopathy is found (idiopathic restrictive cardiomyopathy). 