Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Causes, Symptoms, Treatment

Myocardial disease, which is characterized by the onset of congestive heart failure, a sharp expansion of the heart cavities, and the extinction of the contractile function of the myocardium is called dilated cardiomyopathy. The consequence of a violation of the contraction of the heart muscle is a decrease in cardiac output and an increase in the residual volume of blood in the ventricles. In addition, ventricular dilation occurs and the development of biventricular heart failure, which is the basis of this disease.

In 1957, the term "cardiomyopathy" was proposed to designate myocardial lesions having an unknown etiology that first occurred, causing cardiac dysfunction and not resulting from diseases of the valvular apparatus, coronary arteries, pericardium, damage to the conduction system and pulmonary hypertension. The main indicator of the difference between cardiomyopathy and other lesions was the so-called "sign of suspense" of the onset of these diseases.

According to different authors, the incidence is 5-10 people for every one hundred thousand people a year. Dilated cardiomyopathy is almost three times more common in men than in women. Most cases fall on the age range from thirty to fifty years.

Dilated cardiomyopathy: classification

There are several forms of the disease: idiopathic (developing for no apparent reason), hereditary or familial dilated cardiomyopathy, viral and (or) immune (as a consequence of the transferred viral myocarditis), alcoholic (or toxic) and associated with any cardiovascular disease.

As a rule, in patients with dilated cardiomyopathy, there are no specific clinical manifestations or characteristic complaints that would allow differential diagnosis. Most often, the first symptoms of the disease appear in the form of biventricular insufficiency, which develops suddenly, for no apparent reason. Sometimes heart failure may appear after a respiratory viral infection, childbirth and pneumonia. If there is congestive heart failure, there is no staging, characteristic, for example, for the development of hypertension or ischemia.

The main complaints of patients are the emergence of unmotivated weakness, shortness of breath, both at rest and at increased stress, increased fatigue. In addition, patients complain of swelling of the lower extremities, cough, decreased appetite, nausea, dizziness, fainting and palpitations.

At the early stages of diagnosis of the development of the disease is difficult, since dilated cardiomyopathy does not have any specific criteria. The final diagnosis can be made by eliminating all possible diseases that lead to circulatory failure and increased heart cavities. The most important element of the clinical picture of dilated cardiomyopathy is episodes of embolism, which very often lead to death. The plan of examination of the patient for the presence of this disease consists of the collection of an anamnesis of the disease, life and family heredity.

Dilated cardiomyopathy: treatment

Until now, the treatment of cardiomyopathy is a difficult task, and mostly symptomatic, based on the correction and prevention of existing clinical manifestations of dilated cardiomyopathy and its complications, such as heart rhythm disorders, chronic heart failure, arrhythmia and thromboembolism.