heart and blood vessel disorders
Overview of Cardiomyopathy
Introduction
Cardiomyopathy refers to progressive impairment of the structure and function of the muscular walls of the heart chambers. There are 3 main types of cardiomyopathy: Dilated Cardiomyopathy , in which the ventricles (the 2 lower heart chambers) enlarge (dilate) Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy , in which the walls of the ventricles thicken and become stiff Restrictive Cardiomyopathy , in which the walls of the ventricles become stiff but not necessarily thickened The main types of cardiomyopathy may overlap, that is, people may have features of more than one type. The term cardiomyopathy is used only when a disorder directly affects the heart muscle. Other heart disorders such as Overview of Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) and There are 3 main types of cardiomyopathy—dilated, hypertrophic, and restrictive. Cardiomyopathy can be caused by many disorders, or it may have no identifiable cause. Cardiomyopathies often result in the heart not pumping blood adequately. Inadequate blood pumping can cause symptoms of Symptoms , including To diagnose a cardiomyopathy, doctors ask whether the person has a family history of cardiomyopathy and then do blood tests, Electrocardiography , chest x-ray, Treatment depends on the specific type and cause of cardiomyopathy. 