Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy refers to a weakened heart muscle that is sometimes unable to pump enough blood through the heart and to the body. There are three types of cardiomyopathies. They are congestive, hypertrophic, and restrictive cardiomyopathies.

Dilated (congestive)

Congestive cardiomyopathy is the most common form. The exact cause is not known. Factors that may be associated with it are high alcohol intake, nutritional deficiencies, electrolyte or hormonal disorders, viral diseases, coronary artery disease, or heredity.

The main feature of congestive cardiomyopathy is that the muscle fibers of the heart are damaged. Therefore, the heart has trouble pumping blood to the body as well as it once did. Because the heart has to work so hard to pump the blood, the heart muscle becomes thinned and stretched.

Hypertrophic

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the second most common form of the cardiomyopathies. This type is often referred to as IHSS (Idiopathic Hypertrophic Subaortic Stenosis). Generally, IHSS appears to be inherited from blood relatives who may or may not have symptoms of the disease process.

Restrictive

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is a rare form. The cause is often unknown. There are, however, a number of hormonal disorders that may cause this condition. The disease results in a thickened inner lining of the heart muscle. The heart becomes very rigid, so it doesn't contract properly.

Why cardiomyopathies are treated as heart failure
The heart is a four-chambered muscular organ that pumps blood through the body. Cardiomyopathies affect the heart's ability to pump blood. Whatever the type of cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle is weakened and has trouble pumping blood through the body as easily as it once did. This condition may result in congestive heart failure.

Congestive Heart Failure

Whenever the heart cannot keep up with the body's needs, a person may be diagnosed with congestive heart failure. The degree of heart failure can range from mild to severe.

The heart is a muscle, about the size of a person's fist. It is divided into two halves. The right half receives blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs where it obtains oxygen. The left half receives the oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it to the rest of the body.

The picture below shows the right and left sides of the heart. Veins carry blood to the heart and arteries carry blood away from the heart. Valves direct blood flow through the heart chambers.

A person can have one or both kinds of heart failure:

• Left heart failure-The left side of the heart is weak and cannot pump out as much blood as it receives from the right side of the heart. As a result, blood backs up in the lungs.

• Right heart failure-The right side of the heart cannot pump as much blood to the lungs as it receives from the body. As a result, fluid backs up in the body tissues. Sometimes the cause of heart failure is unknown, but several of the known causes are described below. Your doctor will talk with you about the cause of your heart failure.

Atherosclerosis

Atherosclerosis is the build-up of fatty deposits (plaque) on the walls of the coronary arteries. This plaque can block the flow of blood to the heart m

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