In the last two blogs, we have discussed what a cardiomyopathy is, giving particular attention to the categories of dilated and hypertrophic. This week we’ll complete our review of cardiomyopathies with a look at the restrictive category. While dilated and hypertrophic cardiomyopathies are defined by anatomic features (an enlarged heart chamber in the first and enlarged walls in the second),…
Last week we discussed what a cardiomyopathy is, including the three categories of dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive. We then focused on types of dilated cardiomyopathies, along with some discussion about their treatment. Today I’ll continue our review of cardiomyopathies by focusing on hypertrophic. Whereas a dilated cardiomyopathy is defined by the heart chamber being enlarged, a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is defined…
Several months ago, I devoted a couple blogs to the subject of CHF (congestive heart failure). At the time, I discussed the differences between heart failure from systolic dysfunction (problems with the heart contracting/pumping) and that caused by diastolic dysfunction (problems during the relaxation phase of the cardiac cycle). These are clinical syndromes and are brought on by a variety…