Cardiomyopathy, which is the weakening of your heart muscle, the myocardium, can lead to sudden heart failure and death. The risk of this varies with age, sex and degree of cardiomyopathy, according to a 2000 study in the "The New England...
Carnitine is a nutrient that your body needs to break down the fats in your diet and use them to make energy. Some children are born with a genetic condition called primary carnitine deficiency. People with this disorder lack the ability to...
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...
Your heart is one of the most important organs in your body, responsible for pumping oxygen-rich blood to all of your tissues. When your heart has too much stress on it from chronic high blood pressure or long-term heart arrhythmia, you can...
Regular exercise helps you maintain a normal blood pressure, and is often included in programs to treat high blood pressure and heart disease. Remember to talk to your physician before beginning any type of exercise program, as some activities may...
Noncompaction cardiomyopathy is a rare heart condition that is a congenital birth defect. In noncompaction cardiomyopathy, the growth of portions of the heart are arrested during pregnancy. Portions of the heart remain spongy and have mesh like...
Cardiomyopathy is a condition where the heart cannot pump effectively. There are three main types of cardiomyopathy: hypertrophic, restrictive and dilated. Signs of cardiomyopathy are usually the same regardless of the type you have. Because the...
The best way to recognize alcoholic cardiomyopathy is by having a clear understanding of the condition. Alcoholic cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle weakens significantly because of excessive alcohol consumption. It is a condition marked...
Calcium channel blockers are typically prescribed to treat high blood pressure, chest pain and irregular heart rhythm. They may be used to treat cardiomyopathy, which is a disease that causes the heart muscles to become weak and inflamed. Common...
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects one in 500 people, the Cleveland Clinic says. This disease is usually genetic and causes the ventricles of the heart to thicken and enlarge. A larger ventricular muscle makes it harder for your heart to fill...
Diseases that affect the muscles in the heart are referred to as cardiomyopathy. The name includes a number of conditions, ranging from abnormal heart rhythms to edema, heart failure and endocarditis. According to Medline Plus, infections, high...
For many, a diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy comes too late. Strenuous athletic competitive activity is often the trigger for sudden death in those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. However, a moderate exercise program with guidance may...
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) is a rare condition, but one of the most common causes of sudden unexpected death in athletes. In this progressive disorder, fibrous scar tissue and fat replace normal muscle cells of the...
Cardiomyopathy is a serious medical condition that results in an enlarged heart muscle. The condition is treated with a combination of surgical and pharmaceutical methods. One strategy, particularly with a particular type of the condition called...
As of 2010, heart disease has been the number one cause of death in America for nearly a century. In fact, the American Heart Association reports that one heart disease-related death occurs every 38 seconds. Heart disease refers to any disorder...
Cardiac abnormalities can affect the structure and/or the function of the heart. Some of the abnormalities affect the cardiac muscle layer and interfere with its ability to function. An abnormal structure in the cardiac valves, tumors and abnormal...
A pacemaker is a medical device that is inserted into the body in order to regulate abnormal heart rhythms. Pacemakers exert their therapeutic effect by emitting a a low electrical current that stimulates the heart muscle to contract. There are...
The excretory, circulatory, lymphatic and endocrine systems work together to maintain a normal level of fluid in the human body. When disease affects one or more of these systems, fluid accumulates in the tissues and cavities. This causes swelling...
The heart is composed of four chambers. The right and left atria are smaller chambers on top of the heart. The right and left ventricles are larger chambers underneath the ventricles. The atria pump blood into the ventricles. The right ventricle...
Children are surprisingly susceptible to circulatory diseases. Thousands of infants are born each year with defects in their cardiovascular or circulatory system. Many other children get diseases of the heart as they age. A completely normal heart...
Even if an athlete is young and in peak physical shape, chest pain is a symptom that must always be taken seriously. While most bouts of chest pain in children and teens don't point to a serious heart problem, playing sports can aggravate...
Selenium and iron are two trace minerals your body needs for a variety of biological functions. Too much iron can overpower selenium, making it less effective. Overloading on iron through diet or supplements may increase oxidative stress in your...
Many conditions cause an enlarged heart including damage from cardiovascular disease, inborn heart defects and genetic disorders, problems with the heart valves, high blood pressure, infections and inflammatory diseases, toxins and primary...
Though usually considered an adult disease, strokes do strike children. While there are many causes of pediatric stroke, they all result in brain damage due either to bleeding or blockage of the blood vessels. Bleeding strokes are known as...
The term "heart failure" means that the heart cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs. It happens when the heart is too weak to pump blood effectively or when it is too stiff to fill up with enough blood. The American Heart Association...
Niacin is commonly used in combination with other statin drugs to reduce blood lipid levels and cholesterol throughout the body. As with many drugs, niacin comes with side effects that may affect your daily life. One of these side effects is...
Statins are popular drugs that aim to lower the levels of cholesterol in the blood. Statin-induced myalgia and myopathy are the most prominent side effects of these drugs. Statins also inhibit the production of coenzyme Q10 in the cells, which...
The heart is an organ that pumps blood to all parts of the body. Oxygen and other nutrients are delivered to all the organs in the body through blood that the heart pumps out. In congestive heart failure, the heart is unable to pump enough blood...
A sudden awareness of the heart beating abnormally is a heart palpitation. An unusually fast heart rhythm often triggers heart palpitations. Many factors and conditions can cause fast heart palpitations, including medications, metabolic imbalances...
Cardiomyopathy refers to deteriorating in the function of the heart muscle itself, which can lead to further medical difficulties. Learn more about cardiomyopathy, including symptoms and treatment options in this video.
Cardiogenic shock is the result of inadequate circulation of blood due to ventricle failure; learn about cardiogenic shock in this heart healthy video.
Congestive heart failure, or congestive cardiac failure, is the failure of the heart resulting from any structural or functional disorder. Learn more about congestive heart failure in this health video.
Heart disease is a general term including many diseases that deteriorate the heart's function or structures, including coronary heart disease and cardiomyopathy. Learn more about heart disease, including warning signs and treatments in this video.
