Cardiomyopathy Heart Disease
Cardiomyopathy is a type of heart disease that can have several causes. According to the Mayo Clinic, "cardio" refers to the heart, "myo" refers to muscle cells, and "pathy" means disease. This disease of the heart muscle can be caused by many factors that may or may not be known.
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Treatment
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Cardiomyopathy treatments depend on the severity of the disease. It can be treated with drugs, implanted devices or with a heart transplant.
Causes of Cardiomyopathy
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Some of the causes of cardiomyopathy include high blood pressure, heart attack, fast heart rate, coronary artery disease, diabetes, alcoholism, drug abuse, pregnancy, chemotherapy, valvular disease and specific viruses.
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Types
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There are three kinds of cardiomyopathy: dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive.
Symptoms
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Some symptoms of cardiomyopathy are feeling tired, swollen lower extremities, loss of breath even when resting, feeling dizzy and enlargement of the abdomen due to a fluid accumulation.
Diagnosis
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Cardiomyopathy may be diagnosed using one or several of the following tests: sonography of the heart, X-ray of the chest, EKG, biopsy of the heart's cells, blood tests and kidney function tests.
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