About Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle. There are four main types of cardiomyopathy; dilated, hypertrophic, restrictive, and right ventricular. When an individual has a cardiomyopathy the heart usually has a difficult time pumping oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. Over time, the heart may begin to pump less and less efficiently and this results in heart failure. In some individuals, a cardiomyopathy can lead to an “irregular heartbeat” which is called an arrhythmia. An arrhythmia interrupts the heart’s normal rhythm and can cause sudden death if left untreated.

The type of heart damage that causes the heart to progress into heart failure or to develop an arrhythmia is different for each type of cardiomyopathy.

Dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common form of cardiomyopathy in the United States. In dilated cardiomyopathy, the left ventricle (the part of the heart that pumps blood to the rest of the body) becomes enlarged and weakened.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of sudden unexplained death in athletes and individuals under the age of 35. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy the left ventricle, and/or the wall between the left and right ventricle becomes thickened (or ‘hypertrophied’) and therefore the size of these chambers becomes smaller. This reduction in chamber size makes it difficult for the heart to hold enough blood to pump to the body.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is the least common form of the main types of cardiomyopathy. In restrictive cardiomyopathy the walls of the heart become stiffened by a build up or infiltration of a particular substance or scar in the heart walls. This makes it difficult for the heart to relax in-between heartbeats. The heart's inability to relax properly prevents normal amounts of blood from filling into the heart chambers.

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy, which is also called Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia (ARVD), affects the right side of the heart. It seems more common among athletes and it has a high rate of life-threatening rhythm disturbance in the heart. Some cases progress to involve the left side of the heart.