Restrictive Cardiomyopathy


by Scot Robinson - Date: 2010-08-10 - Word Count: 511 Share This!

Cardiomyopathy can become a more serious condition if your heart doesn't improve its muscle functions. The heart muscle loses its ability to pump blood and becomes abnormally enlarged. Blood clots may form because of the stagnation of blood in the heart chambers and this may lead to embolism and reduced blood supply to other areas such as the brain, gut and extremities.

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscles which affects the function of the heart to pump blood efficiently to the entire body. Common symptoms include breathlessness, swelling of the lower extremities, abdominal bloating, fatigue, palpitations and dizziness. Coronary artery disease, valvular heart disease, high blood pressure, metabolic disorders and prolonged alcohol and drug abuse are the common causes of this condition.

Jason Ludwick aged 34, a native of West Bloomfield, Michigan, counts himself a lucky man. Born with an atrial septal defect, by the time he was 15 he had a pacemaker; by 21 he was diagnosed as having cardiomyopathy and by 25 he had a defibrillator in place and an ejection fraction of just 8-10 percent. Heart failure dominated and restricted his life until he received adult stem cell therapy. Now he says that with training he could do a triathlon.

Like other diseases, cardiomyopathy can be classified as primary or secondary. Primary cases are not attributable to a specific cause like high blood pressure, heart valve disease, various artery diseases, or congenital heart defects. Secondary cases do have a cause that can be identified. It is frequently associated with diseases involving other organs in addition to the heart.

The treatment course for this disease is a complete abstinence from alcohol. A restricted diet and medications will also be prescribed. The most difficult part of the treatment may be the abstinence from alcohol. If a patient has abused alcohol to the point of causing heart disease they have probably suffered with the disease of alcoholism for most of their life. It is absolutely imperative that the patient seeks treatment for alcoholism as part of their overall treatment plan.

I ask the question because I happened to pop into the hospital the other day. Actually, I got pulled, yanked maybe frightened would be a better description, into the hospital. The halter loop monitor I was wearing at the time sent a message to my cardiologist showing I had an episode of ventricular tachycardia.

The cardiologist called shortly after and told me that my Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and ventricular tachycardia didn't mix very well. Beats of this type could be deadly he said. He wanted me to check into the emergency room as soon as possible.

Cardiomyopathy is a serious heart disease in which thickening of the heart's walls can lead to abnormal heart rhythm. This can cause sudden and unexpected death in athletes. It can be difficult to detect and many athletes train for years before the problem arises.

The problem can, however, be picked up by an ECG, according to the researchers of the study. Those with cardiomyopathy are restricted from competitive sports and receive regular clinical follow-up, beta-block therapy and an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).

Related Tags: restrictive cardiomyopathy, cardiomyopathy symptoms, cardiomyopathy treatment, cardiomyopathy types

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