Cardiomyopathy::Heart Muscle Disease

Cardiomyopathy means a disease of the heart muscle rather than the blood supply or the innovator.

There is a lot no palpable cause for it, although coronary heart disease and high blood pressure, viral infections, excessive alcohol intake and thyroid disease can all be triggers. There are four major types:

• hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MCM), where the heart muscle thickens (high blood pressure can cause this)
• dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), when the heart muscle dilates (becomes large) and weakens
• restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM), when chambers in the heart harden and restrict blood flow through the heart