Dilated cardiomyopathy

Introduction: Dilated cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy: By far the most common type of nonischemic cardiomyopathy, the dilated (stretched) form occurs when disease-affected muscle fibers lead to enlargement, or dilation, of ... more about Dilated cardiomyopathy.

Dilated cardiomyopathy: A rare chronic heart muscle condition where one or both heart ventricles are dilated or have impaired contractility. More detailed information about the symptoms, causes, and treatments of Dilated cardiomyopathy is available below.

Symptoms of Dilated cardiomyopathy

• No early symptoms - early stages may have no noticable symptoms
• Heart failure
  • Fatigue
  • Weakness
  • Shortness of breath

See full list of 21 symptoms of Dilated cardiomyopathy

Home Diagnostic Testing

Home medical testing related to Dilated cardiomyopathy:

• High Blood Pressure: Home Testing
  • Home Blood Pressure Tests
  • Home Blood Pressure Monitors
  • Home Heart Tests
• Heart Health: Home Testing:
  • Heart Rate Monitors
  • Irregular Heartbeat Detection
  • Heart Electrocardiogram (ECG)
  • Home Cholesterol Tests

Medical Textbooks Online about Dilated cardiomyopathy

Book excerpts: Copyright © 2008 Lippincott Williams & Wilkins. All rights reserved.

Diagnostic Tests for Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Physical exam
• Chest x ray
• Electrocardiogram
• Echocardiogram
• Radionuclide ventriculogram

See full list of 6 diagnostic tests for Dilated cardiomyopathy

Wrongly Diagnosed with Dilated cardiomyopathy?

• Misdiagnosis of Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Underlying causes of Dilated cardiomyopathy (possibly wrongly diagnosed)

Misdiagnosis and Dilated cardiomyopathy

Heart attacks can be undiagnosed: Although the most severe symptoms of heart attack are hard to miss, there are varying degrees of severity. It is altogether too common for people to die from...read more »

Heart attacks can be overdiagnosed: Although many people die from heart attacks, there are also many cases where people fear that they have a heart attack,...read more »

Rare heart condition often undiagnosed: The rare heart condition called long QT syndrome can lead to episodes of palpitations and rapid heartbeat. In rare cases, this...read more »

Heart attack can be over-diagnosed: Although heart attack is often undiagnosed, leading to fatality, it can also be over-diagnosed. People become...read more »

Blood pressure cuffs misdiagnose hypertension in children: One known misdiagnosis issue with hyperension, arises in relation to the simple equipment used to test blood pressure. The "cuff" around the arm to measure blood pressure...read more »

Hypertension misdiagnosis common in children: Hypertension is often misdiagnosed in adults (see misdiagnosis of hypertension), but its...read more »

Read more about Misdiagnosis and Dilated cardiomyopathy

Causes of Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Excessive alcohol
• Pregnancy
• Childbirth
• Viral myocarditis (type of Myocarditis)
• Toxins

See full list of 7 causes of Dilated cardiomyopathy

More information about causes of Dilated cardiomyopathy:

• Medications, drugs, or substances causing Dilated cardiomyopathy (2 listings)
• Underlying causes of Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Dilated cardiomyopathy as a complication caused by other conditions
• Dilated cardiomyopathy as a symptom

Treatments for Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Medications
  • Diuretics
  • Vasodilators
  • ACE inhibitors
  • Digitalis

See full list of 15 treatments for Dilated cardiomyopathy

Videos for Dilated cardiomyopathy

Patient Surveys for Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Patient Profile Survey
  Take Survey  View Results
• Survey about the symptoms of your Dilated cardiomyopathy
  Take Survey  View Results

Prognosis for Dilated cardiomyopathy

Prognosis for Dilated cardiomyopathy: Typically poor because usually diagnosed late. 5-year survival 50%. 10-year survival 25%.

More about prognosis of Dilated cardiomyopathy

Reseach about Dilated cardiomyopathy

Visit our research pages for current research about Dilated cardiomyopathy treatments.

Clinical Trials for Dilated cardiomyopathy

The US based website ClinicalTrials.gov lists information on both federally and privately supported clinical trials using human volunteers.

Some of the clinical trials listed on ClinicalTrials.gov for Dilated cardiomyopathy include:

• Role of Left Ventricular Pacing Site - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Resynchronization Therapy in Young Patients With and Without CHD - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Cell Therapy In Dilated Cardiomyopathy - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)
• Therapy With Verapamil or Carvedilol in Chronic Heart Failure - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006) - Verapamil,Carvedilol
• Pediatric Heart Network - This study is currently recruiting patients (Current: 23 Nov 2006)

See full list of 17 Clinical Trials for Dilated cardiomyopathy

Statistics for Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Medical statistics for Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Prevalence and incidence statistics for Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Death and Mortality statistics for Dilated cardiomyopathy
• Society statistics for Dilated cardiomyopathy

Medical Guidebooks and Ebooks for Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Icon Health Sourcebook for Dilated cardiomyopathy

See all guides and ebooks for Dilated cardiomyopathy

Stories from Users Related to Dilated cardiomyopathy

• Congestion for over 6 months
• Please help me with questions of cardiomyopathy
• Always thirsty, always congested
• Sinus congestion for over 6 months
• there must be more to treatment for cardiomyopathy than this.....
• Unexplained hepatomegaly and sinusoidal dilation
• persistent congestion after spermatocele
• cronic congestion

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User Interactive Forums

Read about other experiences, ask a question about Dilated cardiomyopathy, or answer someone else's question, on our message boards:

• I can not get a diagnosis. Please help.
• Tell us your medical story.
• Share your misdiagnosis story.
• What is the best treatment for this?
• See all the forums.

Article Excerpts about Dilated cardiomyopathy

By far the most common type of nonischemic cardiomyopathy, the dilated (stretched) form occurs when disease-affected muscle fibers lead to enlargement, or dilation, of one or more chambers of the heart. This weakens the heart's pumping ability. The heart tries to cope with the pumping limitation by further enlarging and stretching--a process known as "compensation." (Source: excerpt from NHLBI, Cardiomyopathy: NHLBI)

Definitions of Dilated cardiomyopathy:

A form of CARDIAC MUSCLE disease that is characterized by ventricular dilation, contractile dysfunction of the left or both HEART VENTRICLES, and congestive heart failure (HEART FAILURE, CONGESTIVE) symptoms. Risk factors include ETHANOL and TOBACCO abuse, PREGNANCY; HYPERTENSION; INFECTION; and mutations in the LMNA gene encoding LAMIN TYPE A, a NUCLEAR LAMINA protein. - (Source - Diseases Database)