People suffer from various heart related disorders and one of them is Cardiomyopathy. It affects the human heart structure and reduces its capacity to perform properly. It literally denotes a disorder of the human heart muscles.

Types of Cardiomyopathy

The disorder has some variants like Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy and Restrictive cardiomyopathy. Each of them has various symptoms and causes. The WHO however divides the disorder into two primary groups, intrinsic cardiomyopathies and extrinsic cardiomyopathies.

The WHO or World Health Organization includes some heart related diseases under the umbrella of Cardiomyopathy. They are congenital heart disease, Coronary artery disease, Ischemic cardiomyopathy, inflammatory cardiomyopathy, Alcoholic cardiomyopathy, Hypertensive cardiomyopathy, Valvular cardiomyopathy etc.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy:

In this cardiomyopathy, the heart’s muscular walls thicken. This results in inadequate filling of the heart with blood and pumping.Its victims can suffer from breathlessness, chest pains and fainting. It may result in sudden death. Its proper cause has not yet been discovered but it runs is the family. One in every 500 people can develop this disorder.

Dilated cardiomyopathy:

In DCM, as it is alternatively called, the heart’s muscular walls turn dilated or stretched. This makes the heart bigger and as a result the muscles of the heart grow weak and hence it can not pump up as much blood as it is supposed to do.Its symptoms are fatigue and short breath during workout or rest. People affected by this disorder may also suffer from fainting, palpitation and chest pain.

It is considered as the commonest form of cardiomyopathy. As a matter of fact, it can affect people from all age groups but people aged between 20 to 60 years are the most vulnerable lot. Men are more prone to develop this disorder than women.It may be caused by an infection of the heart, viral or otherwise. Excessive consumption of alcohol and drugs and exposure to pesticides and chemicals can lead to this disorder. Sometimes diseases like Hepatitis C are also suspected as the root cause of this disease.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy:

It occurs when the heart muscles are stiffened. It has a track record of happening in the tropical region. This is relatively rare.

Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy:

ARVC or Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy is a disorder that takes place when a person’s heart muscles are injured and they are slowly substituted by blemished and fat tissues. It actually affects both sides of the heart. It is inherited in most cases and men are more vulnerable to it. It generally occurs in one’s teen years and also in adolescence .It may result in unexpected death. The patients can feel electric disturbances in the heart. It has the same symptoms of other variants of cardiomyopathy.

Noncompaction cardiomyopathy:

It has been accepted as a distinct variant of the disease after the 1980’s. People suffering from this variant have defective hearts. The left ventricle wall of their heart is malnourished from birth and hence does not grow properly. It results in reduced functionality. When viewed through echocardiogram, this type of hearts looks spongy.

Malignant Cardiomyopathy:

It is also known as accelerated Cardiomyopathy. As evident from its name, it denotes the last stage of the disorder. A person suffering from it may face blurred vision, headaches and organ damages.

Cardiomyopathy Treatment

The diagnosis for cardiomyopathyinvolves tests like chest x-ray, electrocardiogram and echocardiogram. These tests enable the doctors to understand the function and structure of the patient’s heart. The treatments are aimed at relieving the symptoms and prevent the development of further complications. Medication can be implemented to check unusual heart beats and chances of heart failure.

Care needs to be taken to prevent blood clotting inside the heart as it could be fatal. In some cases, a pacemaker may be installed to control the heartbeats. Patients suffering from HCM are sometimes advised to undergo surgery to remove the thickened muscles of the heart. In extreme cases where medication can not bring the desired results, a heart transplant remains the last alternative.

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