heart and blood vessel disorders
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy
Accumulation of abnormal substances
Various substances may accumulate in the heart as a result of various disorders. The accumulated substances interfere with the heart muscle's ability to contract and relax. For example, in people who have iron overload ( Hemochromatosis ), the body contains too much iron, so iron may accumulate in the heart muscle. In Hypereosinophilic syndrome , eosinophils (a type of white blood cell) may accumulate in the heart muscle. Hypereosinophilic syndrome most often occurs in tropical regions. In Amyloidosis , amyloid (an unusual protein not normally present in the body) may accumulate in heart muscle and other tissues. Amyloidosis is more common among older adults and can sometimes be hereditary. Other examples are tumors and granuloma tissue (abnormal collections of certain white blood cells that form in response to chronic inflammation), which, for example, develops in people who have Sarcoidosis . 