Anatomy

Cardiomyopathy

The disease I chose is Cardiomyopathy. Cardiomyopathy is the weakening of the heart muscle. This disease has many signs, symptoms, causes, and treatments. As cardiomyopathy worsens, the heart becomes weaker. It's less able to pump blood through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. This can lead to heart failure or irregular heartbeats. Heart failure can cause fluid to build up in the lungs, ankles, feet, legs, or abdomen. Treatments for cardiomyopathy include lifestyle changes, medicines, surgery, implanted devices to correct arrhythmias, and a nonsurgical procedure. These treatments can control symptoms, reduce complications, and stop the disease from getting worse. The cause of the cardiomyopathy is unknown. In some people, doctors are able to identify some contributing factors. Some of the factors include: Long-term high blood pressure; Heart valve problems; Heart tissue damage from a previous heart attack; Chronic rapid heart rate; Metabolic disorders, such as obesity, thyroid disease or diabetes; Nutritional deficiencies of essential vitamins or minerals; Drinking too much alcohol over many years; Use of cocaine, amphetamines or anabolic steroids; Certain viral infections, which may injure the heart and trigger cardiomyopathy; Iron buildup in your heart muscle; Genetic conditions. There is no found cure for Cardiomyopathy. If I was a doctor and I had a patient with cardiomyopathy, I would expect the patient’s family to have a history of heart problems. I would make the person change their diet into a healthy one and make sure that they were physically active. I might also implant a device in the person to make sure their heart worked fine, or I would perform a heart transplant on the person. If the person changed their diet and stayed physically active, the person should get to feeling better.

www.nhlbi.nih.gov; www.mayoclinic.org; www.wikipedia.org.