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.