Is cardiomyopathy life-threatening?

Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
Updated on September 17, 2024
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Whether cardiomyopathy poses a threat to life depends on the severity of the condition. Mild myocardial damage, if detected early, diagnosed early, and treated with effective medications in a timely manner, generally has a good prognosis, poses no threat to life, and leaves no sequelae. Severe myocardial damage, due to lack of timely treatment, can lead to serious complications such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and cardiogenic shock, which can endanger life safety. Therefore, early diagnosis, early treatment, and prevention of complications are crucial treatment measures for cardiomyopathy.

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Written by Zhang Yue Mei
Cardiology
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Can people with cardiomyopathy run?

Whether a person with myocardial disease can run or not depends on the extent of myocardial damage and clinical symptoms. If the myocardial damage is severe and there are significant clinical symptoms of heart failure and arrhythmia, this group should not run and needs bed rest. If strenuous activity would worsen heart failure, the myocardial damage is mild, with no typical clinical symptoms, and does not affect daily activities, this group can engage in appropriate exercises like walking or running, but the duration should not be too long, about 20 to 30 minutes each time.

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Written by Li Hai Wen
Cardiology
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Clinical manifestations of dilated cardiomyopathy

The clinical manifestations of dilated cardiomyopathy can be summarized in two words: "three hearts," which are reflected in the following three aspects. First, heart enlargement, such as through chest X-rays or echocardiography, often reveals a notable enlargement of the patient's heart. Second, arrhythmias; dilated cardiomyopathy often accompanies a variety of arrhythmias, such as frequent ventricular premature beats, tachycardia, or atrial fibrillation. Third, heart failure. Dilated cardiomyopathy often results in symptoms of heart failure, such as exertional dyspnea and paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea.

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Written by Liu Yong
Cardiology
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Does cardiomyopathy require surgery?

Firstly, whether myocardial disease requires surgery, we need to clarify the type of myocardial disease and the stage of myocardial disease, that is, the stage of heart function that has been affected. There are many types of myocardial diseases, including dilated cardiomyopathy, ischemic cardiomyopathy, and restrictive cardiomyopathy, for instance. The treatment plans for different types of myocardial diseases are not exactly the same. For example, dilated cardiomyopathy is generally treated with medication, and only in the very late stages of dilated cardiomyopathy, or what is known as stage IV heart function, when conventional medication is ineffective, heart transplantation might be considered if a donor is available and conditions allow. However, currently, heart donors are extremely rare, making this option quite difficult to achieve. The latest advances in clinical research have introduced artificial mechanical hearts available for transplantation, but the costs of surgery are very high, and the technology is not very mature yet. Therefore, the chances and opportunities for surgery are not very great and must be decided based on the situation. For other conditions, such as ischemic cardiomyopathy, if it is clearly caused by severe ischemia, we might consider addressing the factors causing myocardial ischemia, such as performing a coronary angiography. If there is severe coronary artery stenosis, we might consider implementing a coronary artery stent or coronary artery bypass grafting to alleviate the ischemic factors. In cases like restrictive cardiomyopathy, if there are severe restrictive factors contributing to the disease, surgical treatment might also be pursued.

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Written by Li Hai Wen
Cardiology
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What should I do if dilated cardiomyopathy is causing insomnia?

Dilated cardiomyopathy causing insomnia needs to be treated based on the cause of the insomnia. First, if it is simply poor sleep quality causing occasional insomnia, no special treatment is needed. However, if insomnia occurs daily and affects quality of life, sleep-improving medications such as eszopiclone or zopiclone may be taken under a doctor's guidance. Second, if caused by worsening heart failure symptoms, which lead to nocturnal respiratory distress and affect sleep, resulting in insomnia, the treatment for heart failure should be intensified under a doctor's guidance, for instance, by increasing diuretic treatment or adjusting medications. Improving heart failure symptoms naturally enhances sleep quality. (If medication is required, please do so under the guidance of a doctor)

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Written by Tang Li
Cardiology
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How is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy treated?

The treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy aims to improve symptoms, reduce complications, and prevent sudden death. The methods include improving ventricular compliance by reducing outflow tract obstruction, preventing thromboembolic events, and identifying high-risk patients for sudden death. Treatment needs to be individualized, and the main treatments include the following aspects: 1. Medication treatment. Drug treatment is fundamental, and drugs targeting outflow tract obstruction mainly include receptor blockers and non-dihydropyridine calcium channel blockers. For patients with congestive heart failure, targeted treatment is required. Anticoagulation treatment is necessary for patients with atrial fibrillation, and it is worth noting that for patients with chest discomfort, care should be taken to exclude outflow tract obstruction when using nitrate drugs to avoid exacerbation after use. Non-drug treatments include: 1. Surgical treatment: For patients with ineffective drug treatment and heart function class three to four, if there is severe outflow tract obstruction, septal myectomy should be considered. Currently, surgery is listed as the preferred treatment for suitable patients in consensus guidelines in both America and Europe. 2. Alcohol septal ablation; 3. Pacing therapy.