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Cardiomyopathy | | |
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CARDIOMYOPATHY-3 Return to page-1 return to page-2 return to page-3.
Diagnosis
A physician may suspect restrictive cardiomyopathy based on a
patient's symptoms and the presence of another disease. Although
symptoms of congestive heart failure may predominate, the size of
the heart remains relatively small, unlike other cardiomyopathies.
Diagnostic information comes from an electrocardiogram or any of
several imaging studies that provide pictures of the heart. These
include echocardiography, magnetic resonance imaging, and computed
tomography.
A definite diagnosis usually requires cardiac catheterization
studies or a biopsy, in which a tiny piece of tissue--including
heart muscle--is removed for laboratory analysis.
Treatment
Restrictive cardiomyopathy has no specific treatment. The underlying
disease that leads to the heart problem also may not be treatable.
In general, the use of traditional heart drugs has been limited in
this cardiomyopathy, although diuretics may help control fluid
accumulation.
In rare cases, surgery is sometimes used to try to improve blood
flow into the heart.
Course of the disease
The condition is similar to dilated cardiomyopathy and tends to
worsen with time. Only about 30 percent of patients survive more
than 5 years after diagnosis.
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FUTURE DIRECTIONS
Future advances in the diagnosis and treatment of cardiomyopathy
depend on a better understanding of the disease process and why
heart muscle is damaged. A lot of research is under way to identify
these processes and whether they can be halted or even reversed.
Much of the research is conducted at or supported by the National
Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI).
Promising clues came from investigators at and supported by the
NHLBI who discovered some of the genes responsible for hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy. Their work represents an important first step in
understanding how the disease is transmitted and how it progresses.
Researchers also are trying to determine the best use of currently
available treatments, especially drug therapies. Drugs useful for
other conditions may help treat cardiomyopathy. For example, drugs
effective in treating high blood pressure also help manage heart
failure and irregular heartbeats.
Additionally, much work has been--and continues to be--done on
identifying factors that increase or decrease the risk of death for
persons with cardiomyopathy. Knowing which patients are at the
greatest risk is very important in determining the best approach to
evaluation and treatment of their condition.
The development of improved treatments for cardiomyopathy, however,
awaits still more research and a better understanding of the disease
process.
GLOSSARY
Angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor--A drug used to
decrease pressure inside blood vessels.
Arrhythmia--An irregular heartbeat.
Beta blocker--A drug used to slow the heart rate and reduce pressure
inside blood vessels. It also can regulate heart rhythm.
Calcium channel blocker (or calcium blocker)--A drug used to relax
the blood vessel and heart muscle, causing pressure inside blood
vessels to drop. It also can regulate heart rhythm.
Cardiac arrest--A sudden stop of heart function. See also "sudden
death."
Cardiac catheterization--A procedure in which a thin, hollow tube is
inserted into a blood vessel. The tube is then advanced through the
vessel into the heart, enabling a physician to study the heart and
its pumping activity.
Cardiomyopathy--A disease of the heart muscle (myocardium).
Congestion--Abnormal fluid accumulation in the body, especially the
lungs.
Digitalis--A drug used to increase the force of the heart's
contraction and to regulate specific irregularities of heart rhythm.
Dilated cardiomyopathy--Heart muscle disease that leads to
enlargement of the heart's chambers, robbing the heart of its
pumping ability.
Diuretic--A drug that helps eliminate excess body fluid; usually
used in the treatment of high blood pressure and heart failure.
Dyspnea--Shortness of breath.
Echocardiography--A test that bounces sound waves off the heart to
produce pictures of its internal structures.
Edema--Abnormal fluid accumulation in body tissues.
Electrocardiogram (EKG or ECG)--Measurement of electrical activity
during heartbeats.
Heart failure--Loss of pumping ability by the heart, often
accompanied by fatigue, breathlessness, and excess fluid
accumulation in body tissues.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy--Heart muscle disease that leads to
thickening of the heart walls, interfering with the heart's ability
to fill with and pump blood.
Idiopathic--Results from an unknown cause.
Left ventricular assist device (LVAD)--A mechanical device used to
increase the heart's pumping ability.
Pulmonary congestion (or edema)--Fluid accumulation in the lungs.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy--Heart muscle disease in which the muscle
walls become stiff and lose their flexibility.
Septum--In the heart, a muscle wall separating the chambers.
Sudden death--Cardiac arrest caused by an irregular heartbeat. The
term "death" is somewhat misleading, because some patients survive.
Ventricles--The two lower chambers of the heart. The left ventricle
is the main pumping chamber in the heart. Ventricular
fibrillation--Rapid, irregular quivering of the heart's ventricles,
with no effective heartbeat.
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