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Idiopathic cardiomyopathy    See images

Overview | Symptoms | Treatment | Prevention

Alternative names:

Cardiomyopathy - idiopathic

Definition:

A group of disorders with unknown or no identifiable cause, in which the heart muscle is weakened and cannot pump blood efficiently. This causes decreased heart function that affects the lungs, liver, and other body systems.

Causes and Risks

Cardiomyopathy has many causes, including nutritional deficiencies, deposits in the heart muscle associated with medical conditions, anemia, stress, viral infections (rare), alcoholism, coronary artery disease, and others.

Idiopathic cardiomyopathy refers to a weakening of the heart muscle, a "cardiomyopathy" for which there is no identifiable cause. A certain percentage of cases with an unidentified cause can be the end result of a viral infection of the heart muscle called myocarditis. It is still not well understood as to why some people with myocarditis recover their heart muscle function spontaneously, and others progress to heart failure.

Risk factors include obesity, personal or family history of cardiac disorders such as myocarditis, use of certain medications, smoking, and alcoholism. Cardiomyopathy also occurs when there is damage to the heart, resulting in scarring (fibrosis) or deposits in the tissues of the heart muscle.

Symptoms often develop gradually and usually include symptoms of right heart failure and/or left heart failure.

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