Cardiomyopathy

If you have cardiomyopathy, we’re here to help you find the best solution so you can get back to the things you love. We’ve been part of nearly every clinical trial for new artificial heart devices over the last 30 years. That means you can be confident we have the skills and most advanced technologies available for your care.

What is cardiomyopathy?

According to the American Heart Association, cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease that causes the heart to become enlarged, thick or stiff, and over time, can lead to heart failure or other conditions. The abnormal heart becomes weaker, which makes it harder for the heart to pump blood and keep a steady rhythm.

Cardiomyopathy is a serious heart condition that can develop because of genetic (inherited) traits or other health conditions, especially heart diseases or injuries that affect the heart.

Understanding the types of cardiomyopathy

There are several types of cardiomyopathy including:

• Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM): In this type, the ventricles enlarge and weaken. The heart stretches as it tries to make up for its reduced pumping ability. The condition usually starts in the left ventricle, but in time, it may affect both ventricles.
  • Ischemic cardiomyopathy is the most common type of dilated cardiomyopathy. It develops from the lack of blood supply to the heart caused by a heart attack or coronary artery disease.
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM): In this condition, the fibers of the heart muscle enlarge abnormally, causing the heart walls to thicken. The ventricles (lower chambers of the heart) may narrow, making it harder for the heart to pump blood.
• Restrictive cardiomyopathy: In this type of cardiomyopathy, the ventricles stiffen, and the heart can’t relax normally between beats. Eventually, it can cause valve damage.
• Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (ARVD): This rare condition can cause an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) when scar or fatty tissue replaces the heart’s muscle tissue in the right ventricle. It usually affects teens or young adults and may cause sudden cardiac arrest in young athletes.
• Stress cardiomyopathy: Also called broken heart syndrome or takotsubo cardiomyopathy, this temporary condition can come on suddenly from extreme emotional or physical stress. Usually, it reverses itself in a few days or weeks.
• Unclassified cardiomyopathy: Sometimes cardiomyopathy develops from other, unidentified causes and falls into this type.

Cardiomyopathy signs & symptoms

As cardiomyopathy progresses, it can lead to other conditions, such as heart failure, arrhythmia, heart valve disease or sudden cardiac arrest. Some signs and symptoms of cardiomyopathy identified by the American Heart Association include:

• Shortness of breath or trouble breathing, especially when lying down, after eating or with physical activity
• Fatigue and weakness
• Swelling in your ankles, feet, legs or abdomen
• Swollen or bulging veins in the neck
• Light-headedness, dizziness or fainting, especially during physical activity
• Chest pain
• Irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia) or heart murmur

It's important to see your doctor right away if you're experiencing any of these symptoms.

Causes & risks for cardiomyopathy

Doctors don’t always know why cardiomyopathy happens. But there are known risks for developing cardiomyopathy. You may be at a higher risk for cardiomyopathy if you have:

• A damaged or abnormal heart, such as from a past heart attack, coronary artery disease or heart infection
• Other conditions that affect the heart
• A family history of cardiomyopathy or sudden cardiac arrest
• Diabetes
• Severe obesity
• Long history of alcohol abuse
• High blood pressure

According to the American Heart Association, you can’t prevent inherited types of cardiomyopathy. But you can lower your risk for conditions that may lead to cardiomyopathy, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure and heart attack.

Cardiomyopathy diagnosis

Cardiomyopathy is most often diagnosed when you experience symptoms that indicate an abnormal heart. Other times, your doctor may detect it while doing a test or procedure for another condition.

To give you an expert diagnosis and develop the best treatment plan for you, we’ll start with a thorough physical exam. We’ll check for swelling in your ankles, feet, legs and abdomen and ask about your symptoms and family history. We’ll listen to your heart and lungs with a stethoscope and check for a distinctive crackling sound in the lungs that often occurs in later stages of cardiomyopathy.

Testing for cardiomyopathy

We may order imaging and diagnostic tests for you, such as:

• Lab testing, including blood tests
• Radiographic imaging, including a chest X-ray
• Echocardiogram, a heart ultrasound
• Electrocardiogram (EKG) to check your heart’s electrical activity
• Monitoring, using a Holter or other portable monitor that sends reports to your doctor while you go about your daily activities
• Stress test to examine your heart while you exercise
• Cardiac catheterization to see how well your heart is working
• Myocardial biopsy, where we take small samples of heart tissue and send them to a lab for analysis

Find out more about our heart and vascular testing and diagnosis.

Cardiomyopathy treatment

Our doctors are among the most experienced heart specialists in Wisconsin. If you’re diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, we’re here to develop a treatment plan tailored to you. We’ll help you and your family understand your condition and guide you on what to expect next.

Your care plan will depend on the type of cardiomyopathy you have and your own unique situation. The American Heart Association suggests the following cardiomyopathy treatments:

• Lifestyle changes, such as avoiding intense exercise, losing weight and limiting caffeine, alcohol, fat and salt
• Medications to help control symptoms, such as beta blockers to slow down an abnormal heart rate and treat lower blood pressure, or diuretics to help your body remove excess fluid and sodium
• Minimally invasive procedures, using the most advanced techniques available to clear blockages, such as coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery and cardiac catheterization for angioplasty and stenting
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker implant to help your heart maintain a regular heart rhythm
• Ventricular assist devices (VADs), implanted devices that support your heart’s pumping action to improve blood flow in your heart
• Heart valve repair and replacement, using minimally invasive procedures so you’ll have less discomfort and spend less time in the hospital
• Heart transplant, providing results that are better than national averages.

Find out more about our Tendick Center for Advanced Heart Failure Therapies, where our compassionate, experienced specialists have unmatched experience in diagnosing and treating heart failure – which means exceptional results and your best heart health.

Are you at risk for heart disease?

Knowing your risk factors of heart disease – the leading cause of death in the U.S. – can help you lower your chances of developing it. Our heart health quiz estimates your risk, determines which of your risk factors are controllable and gives you an idea what to do next based on your results.