Cardiomyopathy Research Paper

Definition Of Cardiomyopathy

The heart is the most important muscle in the body. According to Patient “The heart has four chambers, two atria and two ventricles. The walls of these chambers are mainly made of specialized heart muscle called the myocardium.” [1] ‬ Usually, the heart is a size of a fist. The main function of the heart is pumping the blood around the body. However, there are a lot of diseases that can affect the heart such as cardiomyopathy, which is the main character of the heart can not work efficiently, so the heart becomes weaker. This essay will cover the main character of cardiomyopathy, the different forms of the disease, and will explain specific type: dilated cardiomyopathy. ‬ Cardiomyopathy is a serious disease
The treatment that the patient will receive depends on which form of cardiomyopathy and how severe it is. The first type is restrictive cardiomyopathy, which means the heart muscle becomes rigid and less elastic. For example, if the blood came to heart, the muscle could not expand and fill between heartbeats. The second type is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that includes abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, and it especially affects the left ventricle. Furthermore, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be dangerous if it starts during childhood. People who suffer from this disease most of them have a family history that relates to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The third type is arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia. According to MAYO CLINIC "In this rare type of cardiomyopathy, the muscle in the lower right heart chamber is replaced by scar tissue.” ‬[2] The fourth type is Dilated cardiomyopathy According to WebMD ” Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is when the heart’s ability to pump blood is lessened because its main pumping chamber, is enlarged and weekend.” [3]‬
It usually attacks middle-aged people, but it can also affect children. Most patients who suffer from this sickness are men. There are many names for this illness such as familial dilated cardiomyopathy, idiopathic cardiomyopathy, and congestive cardiomyopathy. Dilated cardiomyopathy develops slowly, so some patients may have a quite symptoms before they are diagnosed. There are many symptoms of dilated cardiomyopathy, for example, shortness of breath, excessive tiredness, swelling of the ankles. On the other hand, the most known tests that doctors make for dilated cardiomyopathy are ECG, echocardiogram, and MRI scan. Even though the research has shown that sufferers can live a normal life with dilated cardiomyopathy with proper treatment and follow up, they have to make changes in their life, such as change in diet, quit smoking, doing