Heart disease describes a range of conditions that affect your heart. Diseases under the heart disease umbrella include blood vessel diseases, such as coronary artery disease; heart rhythm problems (arrhythmias); and heart defects you’re born with (congenital heart defects), among others.
The term “heart disease” is often used interchangeably with the term “cardiovascular disease.” Cardiovascular disease generally refers to conditions that involve narrowed or blocked blood vessels that can lead to a heart attack, chest pain (angina) or stroke. Other heart conditions, such as those that affect your heart’s muscle, valves or rhythm, also are considered forms of heart disease.
Many forms of heart disease can be prevented or treated with healthy lifestyle choices. Cardiomyopathy refers to diseases of the heart muscle. These diseases have many causes, signs and symptoms, and treatments. The heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick or rigid in cardiomyopathy, and in rare cases the muscle tissue is replaced with scar tissue.
As the condition worsens, the heart becomes weaker and less able to pump blood through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. The result can be heart failure or irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias. A weakened heart also can cause other complications, such as heart valve problems.
Overview
The main types of cardiomyopathy are:
• Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
• Restrictive cardiomyopathy
• Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia
Some other types of cardiomyopathy are called “unclassified cardiomyopathy.” Yet another type is “stress-induced cardiomyopathy”, also known as broken heart syndrome.
Cardiomyopathy can be “acquired,” meaning it develops because of another disease, condition or factor, or “inherited,” meaning the gene for the disease was passed on from a parent. Often, the cause isn’t known. Cardiomyopathy can affect all ages, although certain age groups are more likely to have certain types of cardiomyopathy. This article concentrates on cardiomyopathy in adults.