How Dilated Cardiomyopathy Comes About

Dilated cardiomyopathy has another name and that’s congestive cardiomyopathy. This disease is a problem in the heart’s muscles, which is clinically referred to as the myocardium. In a case of dilated cardiomyopathy, the myocardium becomes dilated or enlarged. And most of the time, it happens even without any underlying causes, at least not one observable by doctors. Usually, this disease is regarded to be congenital, meaning the condition is present during the patient’s birth.

There are three different types of cardiomyopathy, and dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common of the three. Most of the cases though are found in women rather than with men. And when it comes to age, it is more common to people from ages 20 to 60 years old.

Although dilated cardiomyopathy arises without any apparent reason at all, it is assumed to be the result of the damages sustained by the myocardium as it does its usual functions. And these damages can be due to the presence of infectious, metabolic, or toxic agents present in the blood. There are also theories that dilated cardiomyopathy is a consequence of a disease called viral myocarditis.

While these are the most common assumptions, several studies had also shown that dilated cardiomyopathy can be due to alcohol abuse and cocaine use. Links was also seen between it and other diseases such as tachycardia and certain types of thyroid diseases. A certain research had also shown that pregnancy could sometimes cause it, although the instances proving that are quite rare.

The most common symptom of dilated cardiomyopathy is chest pains. Some patients would have syncope, other would experience systemic embolism. But even if this is the case, dilated cardiomyopathy does not directly affect the person’s condition the minute it is diagnosed. In fact, acquiring the disease does not immediately limit the duration of a person’s life, nor its quality. This disease may go unnoticed for some years, because in reality, it has the possibility to be asymptomatic, meaning it does not show any symptom at all.

But when it does, the symptoms stated above are the ones most commonly felt. And as the disease progresses, the risks become higher. The probability of a sudden death on the patient that has it becomes real. Therefore, proper medical attention has to be performed accordingly.

To diagnose dilated cardiomyopathy, chest x-rays are conducted. The current enlargement of the heart is noticed with these x-rays allowing doctors to immediately assess the severity of a person’s case. The same is observed when a patient undergoes electrocardiogram. Usually, an ECG report would show the extent of the dilation of the ventricles, including the condition of the walls of the heart. Most of the time, patients with dilated cardiomyopathy have thinned heart walls.

Before the modern-day drugs for dilated cardiomyopathy, patients over 55 years old diagnosed with this disease dies in a span of 3 years. But with today’s effective drug therapy, the progression of dilated cardiomyopathy can be slowed down. And several patients are seen to be responding positively to the drug and the therapy associated with it that their overall heart condition improves.

The therapy used to treat dilated cardiomyopathy includes the reduction of salt in one’s diet while drugs like ACE inhibitors, digitalis, and diuretics are prescribed. Along with that, alcohol consumption should also be eliminated. For some advanced cases, the use of artificial pacemakers is required. This is to make sure that the person’s heartbeat is still within normal parameters. And as with any other heart condition, if any medical therapy is seen not to help the patient’s condition at all, surgery maybe the next option.

These are just the common treatment methods of dilated cardiomyopathy. But doctors would recommend an individual course of treatment for every patient. And by following the treatment as prescribed by the cardiologists, dilated cardiomyopathy is indeed conquerable.