Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is the deterioration of the cardiac muscleof the heartwall. Cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failureas the pumping efficiency of the heart is diminished. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmiaand/or sudden cardiac death.

Cardiomyopathies can generally be categorized into two groups: ischemic cardiomyopathy and nonischemic cardiomyopathy.

Ischemic

Ischemic cardiomyopathyis weakness in the muscle of the heart due to coronary artery disease. Individuals with ischemic cardiomyopathy typically have a history of myocardial infarction(heart attack).

Nonischemic

Nonischemic cardiomyopathy is weakness in the muscle of the heart that is not due to coronary artery disease. To make a diagnosis of nonischemic cardiomyopathy, significant coronary artery disease should be ruled out. The term nonischemic cardiomyopathy does not describe the etiology of weakened heart muscle. The nonischemic cardiomyopathies are a mixed-bag of disease states, each with their own causes.

Nonischemic cardiomyopathy has a number of causes including drugand alcoholtoxicity, certain infections(including Hepatitis C), and various geneticand idiopathic(i.e. unknown) causes.

Nonischemic subtypes

There are four main types of nonischemic cardiomyopathy:

• Dilated cardiomyopathy(DCM), the most common form of cardiomyopathy, and one of the leading indications for heart transplantation. In DCM the heart (especially the left ventricle) is enlarged and weakened. Approximately 40% of cases are familial, but the geneticsare poorly understood compared with HCM. In some cases it manifests as peripartum cardiomyopathy, and in other cases it may be associated with alcoholism.
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HCM or HOCM), a genetic disordercaused by various mutationsin genes encoding sarcomericproteins. In HCM the heart muscle is thickened, which can obstruct blood flow and prevent the heart from functioning properly.
• Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy(ARVC) arises from an electrical disturbance of the heart in which heart muscle is replaced by fibrous scar tissue. The right ventricleis generally most affected.
• Restrictive cardiomyopathy(RCM) is the least common cardiomyopathy. The walls of the ventricles are stiff, but may not be thickened, and resist the normal filling of the heart with blood. A rare form of restrictive cardiomyopathy is the obliterative cardiomyopathy, seen in the hypereosinophilic syndrome. In this type of cardiomyopathy, the myocardium in the apicies of the left and right ventricles become thickened and fibrotic, causing a decrease in the volumes of the ventricles and a type of restrictive cardiomyopathy.

Treatment

Treatment depends on the type of cardiomyopathy, but may include medical therapy and implanted artificial pacemakers. The goal of treatment is often symptom relief, with the underlying condition unaffected. Some patients may eventually require a heart transplant. Treatment of cardiomyopathy (and other heart diseases) using alternative methods such as stem cell therapyis commercially available but is not supported by convincing evidence.

External links

• The Cardiomyopathy Association
• Cardiomyopathy informationfrom Seattle Children's Hospital Heart Centerde:Kardiomyopathie

sv:Kardiomyopati

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
It uses material from the http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cardiomyopathy Wikipedia article Cardiomyopathy.