1. Adopt Healthy Heart Habits
One of the first things your doctor will instruct you to do to treat cardiomyopathy is to break bad habits and develop healthy ones. Fatigue is a symptom due to the heart not pumping as well as it should. Depending on how severe your symptoms are, your doctor may suggest mild exercise to help with fatigue. Always check with your physician before starting an exercise program if you have cardiomyopathy. It may be contraindicated in some people. If water retention is a problem, reducing your salt intake may help. If you smoke, give up the habit. Smoking can damage the heart and make it work harder. Limit alcohol, which can also have a negative effect on the heart. If you are overweight, lose the excess. Carrying around excess weight creates more work for your heart.
2. Medications--First Line of Treatment for Cardiomyopathy
The three different types of cardiomyopathy are dilated, hypertrophy and restrictive. Doctors will prescribe different medications for each type. People with dilated cardiomyopathy may need to take ACE inhibitors, which can help the heart pump better. Beta blockers can treat all three types of the disorder. Beta blockers work by regulating your heart's rhythm, which helps it to work more efficiently. The goal of medication therapy for people with restrictive cardiomyopathy is to reduce symptoms. Some people develop high blood pressure and must take medications to help reduce it. Water retention can be a problem and can interfere with breathing. Diuretics often are needed to help manage this symptom.
3. A Shock to Help the Heart
Depending on the extent of your symptoms and how you are responding to medications, your doctor may suggest a pacemaker. This device is implanted into the chest to help regulate the heartbeat. If you're at high risk for developing serious arrhythmia, your doctor may recommend a defibrillator, which is also surgically implanted into the chest. If things start going haywire and an abnormally high heart rate develops, the defibrillator shocks the heart and helps it return to a normal rhythm. The surgery for implantation of both devices is considered relatively easy. Whenever a surgical procedure is done involving the heart, there is always a risk of complications. However, most people do well.
4. Transplantation as a Last Resort
If medication and other treatments are not successful in reducing symptoms, and the condition becomes life-threatening, you may require a heart transplantation. You will undergo mandatory testing to be sure you're a suitable candidate for a transplant. Then comes the hard part, which is the waiting. You will be placed on a list along with other people awaiting a transplant. When a potential donor is found, testing is done to determine if you are a match. After surgery, you must take medication to reduce the chances of rejection.
