What Is Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is a serious heart condition in which the muscle becomes inflamed, possibly from infection, and does not work as well as it should. There can actually be a multitude of causes for cardiomyopathy which includes some viral infections. Individuals who suffer from cardiomyopathy will be diagnosed with either primary or secondary disease. Primary myopathy is attributed to a specific cause in the body, such as heart valve disease or congenital heart defects. Secondary cardiomyopathy is related to diseases which involve other organs or the heart. The heart muscle will become enlarged, thick or rigid and in more rare cases, muscles gets replaced with scar tissue. As cardiomyopathy becomes worse the heart becomes weaker. It is less able to pump blood throughout the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. This leads to congestive heart failure, and arrhythmias. As the muscle becomes weaker other severe complications can arise, such as heart valve problems. At this time physi...