Restrictive Cardiomyopathy – Causes, Symptoms and Treatments!

Restrictive Cardiomyopathy – Causes, Symptoms and Treatments everyone should know. In addition,  Restrictive Cardiomyopathy is a relatively rare disease, but it requires intense treatment from cardiologists in addition to great dedication from the patient.

Restrictive Cardiomyopathy refers to changes in the heart muscle that prevent part or all of the heart from contracting normally. There are three types of cardiomyopathy , based on the physical changes that occur in the heart .

What is Restrictive Cardiomyopathy: Restrictive  Cardiomyopathy occurs when the walls of the ventricles are too stiff to relax as they are being filled with blood.

The pumping ability of the ventricles may be normal and the ejection fraction is usually normal or preserved, but it is more difficult for the ventricles to fill with enough blood to meet the body’s demands.

Over time, the heart may not pump properly. This leads to heart failure . Unlike dilated cardiomyopathy in which the left ventricle is weak and cannot eject blood, in restrictive cardiomyopathy the main difficulty for the left ventricle is to FILL ITSELF.

Symptoms of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy:  Symptoms of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy vary, depending on the physical changes this disease causes to the heart :

• Restrictive cardiomyopathy: The predominant symptoms are related to edema, with an accumulation of fluid in the legs and abdomen (called ascites). This situation also causes shortness of breath, especially during exertion.
• Diagnosis:  The doctor will review your medical history and ask you questions about your family history of heart disease and about family members whose death was sudden or unexplained, as well as the specific circumstances that trigger heart -related symptoms .
• The doctor will examine you, paying particular attention to the heart , and will likely order an electrocardiogram (ECG), a chest X-ray, blood tests, and an echocardiogram. Other tests may also be needed, including a cardiac catheterization , radionuclide tests, or an endomyocardial biopsy, in which a sample of heart muscle is obtained for examination in a laboratory.
• Expected Duration:  Dilated cardiomyopathy can sometimes be reversed when it is caused by excessive alcohol consumption, treatable poor cardiac circulation (with angioplasty or coronary bypass surgery) or myocarditis. Most cases of hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathy are persistent and may worsen over time.

Treatment Restrictive Cardiomyopathy:  Diuretics may be used for patients with pulmonary vascular edema or congestion, but they should be administered with caution as they may decrease preload as noncompliant ventricles rely on preload to maintain CO.

Digitalis does little to alter hemodynamic abnormalities and can cause serious arrhythmias in Restrictive Cardiomyopathy  due to amyloidosis, in which extreme sensitivity to digitalis is common. If HR is elevated, beta-blockers or rate-limiting calcium channel blockers can be used with caution at low doses.

Afterload reducers (eg, nitrates) can cause profound hypotension and are generally not helpful. If the diagnosis is made at an early stage, specific treatment for hemochromatosis, sarcoidosis, and Löffler syndrome can help. Transplantation is not recommended, as the disease can recur in the transplanted heart .

Prevention:  The best way to prevent Restrictive Cardiomyopathy is to prevent the diseases that most often cause this problem. Know your risk factors for coronary heart disease and change them early in life.

Maintain normal blood pressure by eating a diet rich in vegetables and fruit and taking medication regularly when needed. Do not drink more than two alcoholic drinks a day and do not drink alcohol if you are at high risk of restrictive cardiomyopathy . Family members of people with hereditary forms of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy should be evaluated by their doctors.

Prognosis:  The prognosis varies depending on the specific cause and severity of Restrictive Cardiomyopathy . The survival rate of people with most types of cardiomyopathy has improved dramatically over the past 10 years due to the greater number of treatments available.