Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is a serious disease of the heart that has the effect of enlarging and weakening your heart muscle. There are three types of cardiomyopathy that can affect your life, they are dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathy. In general, this hear disease will make it harder for your heart to pump and deliver blood to the rest of your body. When your body can't get the nutrients and oxygen it needs, it can be strained which causes the heart to weaken, raises blood pressure and can cause severe damage to the artery walls. Damage to artery walls will allows for cholesterol to build up on the side of artery walls, which can lead to blockages and eventually heart attacks.
Causes and Risks of Cardiomyopathy
The cause of cardiomyopathy is not known to science today. But there are a number of contributing factors that have been shown to lead to the disease. Once these are identified by a doctor a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy can be established and further action can be taken to treat it. Some of the causes and risks of this kind og heart disease includes:
- Heart valve problems
- Chronic rapid heart rate
- Long term high blood pressure
- Pregnancy
- Metabolic disorders such as diabetes and thyroid disease
- Excessive use of alcohol
- Iron buildup in your heart
- Nutritional deficiencies of vital vitamins and minerals
Symptoms of Cardiomyopathy
It is very common for people that develop cardiomyopathy to have no signs and symptoms during the very early stages of the disease. It is for this reason that if you are of the age of 45 and are male, it is highly recommended that you make a trip to the cardiologist at least once a year. These frequent trips will allow a doctor to track your heart health and identify this disease at its earliest stages. In the disease's later stages, signs and symptoms will tend to appear more frequently, with varying levels of intensity. If you feel any of these symptoms with an extreme severity you are urged to contact emergency medical professionals as soon as possible due to the risk of a heart attack or other serious heart issue. Some of these symptoms include:
- Shortness of breath
- Swelling of the legs, feet and ankles
- Chronic fatigue
- Bloating of the abdomen because of fluid buildup
- Irregular heartbeats or heart murmur
- Dizziness and fainting
Treatment of Cardiomyopathy
Many of the treatments used for treating cardiomyopathy are very similar to other heart treatments. The overall goal of these treatments is to manage the sings and symptoms or heart disease, to prevent the condition from getting any worse and to reduce your risk of serious complications such as heart attack. The treatments you get are highly dependent on the kind of cardiomyopathy you have. Some kinds of this heart disease respond well to medication, while others respond best to lifestyle changes that include a healthy diet and plenty of physical activity that will keep your heart healthy. Most forms of cardiomyopathy do not need surgery if it is caught in a timely manner and before any of the serious complications of the disease arise. Our clinic specializes in treating all forms of heart diseses with the goal of giving the most amount of mobility and freedom back into your life.