Cardiac dilatation, or dilated cardiomyopathy, is a condition in which the chambers of the hearts are enlarged, the heart muscle is thin and weak, and the muscle fibers are often in disarray. According to The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library, the leading cause of dilated cardiomyopathy in the United States is ischemic heart disease. Dilated chambers can lead to many complications, and 70 percent of people will die in the first 5 years after symptoms appear.
Heart Failure
The weakened heart muscle is unable to pump blood properly. As a result, end organs do not receive sufficient oxygen to meet their needs. Symptoms include fatigue, cognitive difficulties, muscle weakness and kidney failure.
The heart is also unable to receive blood back from the body, as it would normally. Shortness of breath upon exertion can be an initial symptom. As the disease progresses, shortness of breath will appear at rest. When caused by a viral infection, dilated cardiomyopathy can develop rapidly, and heart failure with severe shortness of breath can appear suddenly in a previously healthy person. Eventually the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the basic oxygen needs of the body, fluid accumulates in the lungs and in the entire body, and death will ensue.
Clotting
Pooling of slow moving blood in the heart allows the development of thrombi, or blood clots. These can detach and travel through the blood stream to various organs, where they can block the blood supply. As the Cleveland Clinic explains, emboli to the brain can cause strokes, which can lead to significant disability. Emboli can block the renal arteries and cause renal failure, or block the blood supply to a limb, cause ischemia and potentially loss of that limb.
Arrhythmia
Arrhythmias are common in dilated cardiomyopathy. Disorganization of the muscle fibers, along with patches of scarring in the heart wall, leads to abnormal conduction of the electrical impulses of the heart. Palpitations are a common symptom. An arrythmia can feel like a fluttering sensation in the chest. Arrhythmias can cause fainting, and can also be fatal, a condition known as sudden cardiac death. According to the Cleveland Clinic, dilated cardiomyopathy accounts for about 10 percent of sudden cardiac deaths.
References
- The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- The Merck Manuals Online Medical Library: Heart Failure
- Cleveland Clinic: Dilated Cardiomyopathy
- "Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine"; Anthony S. Fauci, et al.; 2009
- Cleveland Clinic: Arrhythmia--Sudden Cardiac Death
