Cardiomyopathy Ankara
“Myocardium” is the medical name given to the normal functioning heart muscle. Diseases that occur in the heart muscle are also called cardiomyopathy in general. Cardiomyopathy can occur both because of a disease that starts in the heart muscle itself and because of other diseases that affect the heart. Cardiomyopathy, if caused by heart-related diseases, is referred to as “primary cardiomyopathy”; if it occurs as a result of other diseases affecting the heart, it is called “secondary cardiomyopathy”. Cardiomyopathy occurs for a variety of reasons. The cause of some cardiomyopathy cannot be revealed. We define them as “cardiomyopathy of unknown cause” and in medical language they are called “Idiopathic Cardiomyopathy”. Cardiomyopathies can have a very insidious course and cannot show symptoms until adulthood. Some cardiomyopathies begin to show their symptoms from childhood. In the rest of our article, we will give more detailed information about cardiomyopathy. For detailed information about heart diseases and health, you can visit clinic of Prof. Basri Amasyalı in Ankara.
What is Cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy (CMP) is a heart muscle disease. Some of the diseases involving the heart muscle cause only enlargement of the heart muscle and thickening of the heart walls. These are called “hypertrophic CMPs”. Some of the diseases affecting the heart muscle also cause contraction defect in the heart muscle and serious enlargement of the heart. These are also called “dilated CMP”. Cardiomyopathy refers to a group of diseases that cover different heart diseases, mainly used to describe diseases related to the heart muscle.
For this reason, it represents heart muscle diseases that have different subtypes and can develop due to very different reasons, both as a result of genetic and subsequent disorders.
Whatever the cause, the common problem in cardiomyopathy patients is the inability to pump blood. As a result, many patients have complaints similar to those of heart failure or, in some patient groups, vital problems due to different rhythm disorders. Therefore, it is a serious ailment that must be treated.
What are the Reasons of Cardiomyopathy?
In general, no cause can be found in almost 50% of cardiomyopathies and these are called idiopathic CMP as I mentioned earlier. These types of CMPs are also in the “primary CMP” class and the most common form is hypertrophic CMP. Most of these types of CMPs are of genetic origin. In other words, it happens when the CMP, which is especially present in the parents, is passed on to the children. As I mentioned before, there is significant thickening and enlargement of the heart muscle in such patients. Sometimes this thickening or growth comes to such an advanced stage that the heart cavity narrows and there is a significant decrease in the storage volume of the blood to be pumped inside the heart by the contraction of the heart. This eventually again causes the heart to pump insufficient blood. We can list the causes of cardiomyopathies in the other group and generally defined as “secondary CMP” as follows:
- Coronary artery diseases, that is, deaths in the heart muscle that develops after a heart attack,
- Infections involving the heart muscle; these are commonly referred to as “myocarditis”,
- Heart enlargements due to some rhythm disorders,
- Excessive alcohol consumption, drug use,
- Some drugs used for cancer treatment,
- Radiation treatments applied to the chest area.
What Are the Types of Cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy can be seen in different ways according to its anatomical and clinical features:
Dilated Cardiomyopathy
It is a heart muscle disease that occurs as a result of overgrowth of the heart and therefore not being able to contract adequately. It is the most common type of cardiomyopathy. It is special because it can be seen in babies as well.
Symptoms of dilated cardiomyopathy in infants:
- Difficulty breathing during feeding
- Feeding for longer than normal and sweating during feeding
- Rapid weight gain due to inactivity and edema
- Bruising, especially on the fingers and toes
Symptoms of cardiomyopathy in adults:
- Abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting
- Inactivity
- Shortness of breath and cough
- Arrhythmia
- Dizziness and loss of appetite
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
The main problem here is the significant thickening of the heart muscle that forms the heart wall. Some of the hypertrophic CMPs are in the right outflow tract of the heart and they are called “Idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis”, which is a special designation or “IHSS for short. Some medical circles describe such patients as “obstructive CMP”. However, most patients with hypertrophic CMP do not have any problems with the outflow tract of the heart, and such patients are either called “hypertrophic CMP” directly or “non-obstructive CMP”.
Hypertrophic CMP is a very insidious disease and can be silent until adulthood. Sometimes they are noticed during heart check-ups when the patient has no complaints.
Symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in infants:
- Difficulty breathing during feeding
- Feeding for longer than normal and sweating during feeding
- Inactivity and rapid weight gain
Symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in adults:
- Difficulty in exercising, inactivity
- Chest pain that occurs during exercise
- Dizziness and palpitations
- Fainting during exercise
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy
It is a problem that occurs due to the inability of the heart chambers, the so-called ventricles that pump blood to relax properly. The more important the contraction force of the heart when pumping blood, the more important the relaxation phase after contraction. Because the blood that cannot relax enough cannot collect enough blood and therefore cannot send enough blood to the body when it contracts. It is a rare type of cardiomyopathy in children.
Its Symptoms:
- Difficulty in breathing, shortness of breath
- Fainting (syncope)
- Fatigue quickly
- Swelling in the body, this swelling starts in the feet and can be in the abdomen and hands in the advanced stage.
- Enlargement of the liver, enlargement of the spleen and fluid collection in the abdomen
Noncompaction Cardiomyopathy
It is a condition associated with enlargement of the ventricle, as in dilated cardiomyopathy. It is a special type of dilated CMP. It usually involves the left ventricle, but severe cases involving both ventricles are not uncommon. It usually does not cause many symptoms and is diagnosed incidentally during echocardiography. It occurs due to genetic reasons. There is no known primary cause. Patients often present with arrhythmia.
Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia
As it will be understood from its name, it is a heart muscle disease that primarily affects the right ventricle. In this particular group of CMP patients, the heart muscle in the right ventricle has transformed into islets of adipose tissue and the right ventricle is larger than normal. The greatest risk in this patient group is the development of serious rhythm disorders, which are of vital importance. Diagnosis is difficult in some cases. Such patients often come to the physician with complaints of rhythm disturbance. Definitive diagnosis is made by “magnetic resonance imaging” of the heart, that is, by heart MRI.
Ankara Cardiomyopathy Treatment
Cardiomyopathy treatment requires a multidisciplinary approach. Patients should be closely followed up and treated by a physician throughout their lives. CMP patients sometimes develop heart rhythm disorders that require immediate intervention. Therefore, every patient with a CMP should have a chain of hospitals and physicians that they can reach under emergency conditions.
Long-term follow-up of every CMP patient should be done with an individualized treatment plan, except for emergency interventions. Many factors play a role in this treatment plan, such as the type of CMP, the age of the patient, the occupation, and other concomitant non-cardiac diseases. In a large part of such patients, in order to reduce the vital risks, pacemakers with electroshock feature, as well as treatment, which we define as “ICD” in medical language, are required. For more detailed information about cardiomyopathy and its treatment in Ankara, you can contact our clinic.
