Introduction
Cardiovascular disease is the most common cause of death worldwide. Despite scientific progress and outstanding achievements in the field of medicine, cardiomyopathy is still very common in medical practice. The danger is that the disease can develop without symptoms and without arousing suspicion. The best prevention is timely diagnosis and support from a cardiologist. It is necessary to analyze the properties and causes of the disease and also to identify how much attention is paid to the science of combating cardiomyopathy.
Disease Overview
Cardiomyopathy is a disease associated with a gradual increase in the volume of the left ventricle and, as a consequence, resulting in the formation of heart failure. Heart disease can be acute or chronic; it is quite common, and a similar pathology is found in 5-8% of citizens (Moretti and Erdmann 134). The situation is complicated by the fact that cardiomyopathies and myocarditis, in most cases, are detected by chance and at rather advanced stages. Common symptoms of cardiomyopathy:
- Swelling of the lower limbs, legs, and ankles;
- Enlarged abdomen due to the accumulation of excess fluid;
- Increasing shortness of breath;
- Feeling of pressure in the chest area;
- General weakness and loss of strength;
- Pulling pain and heaviness under the right rib (Moretti and Erdmann 137).
Gradually, with the development of the disease, the blood stagnates in the liver, and it increases in size. Rapid heartbeat, attacks of “sinking” of the heart, and low blood pressure are observed (Moretti and Erdmann 140). Over time, dizziness occurs regularly, up to the loss of consciousness, as blood circulation in the brain worsens.
Types of Disease
Modern cardiology divides myocardial pathologies, united under the concept of cardiomyopathies, into different types. The first type is a violation of the heart chambers, and their expansion is referred to as dilated cardiomyopathy; it is the most common and very difficult. Gradually, the heart begins to fail to cope with its function. An abnormal enlargement of the heart is called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Moretti and Erdmann 98). It often becomes the cause of death of young people. The disease associated with the restriction of blood flow into the aorta from the left ventricle belongs to the obstructive type of cardiomyopathy. The key guarantee of a cure for the patient is a timely diagnosis. It allows for to detect of pathology in time and to receive effective treatment. During a routine examination, it is impossible to determine the presence of changes in the heart muscle (Moretti and Erdmann 91). The enlargement of the heart is easily detected by echocardiography and electrocardiography. The attending cardiologist may additionally prescribe magnetic resonance imaging or radiopaque ventriculography.
Treatment of the Disease
In the first stage, a comprehensive diagnosis is carried out; the patient undergoes echocardiography and Holter ECG monitoring. After determining the type of disease and the underlying causes, the cardiologist selects the appropriate therapy and prescribes a course of treatment (Moretti and Erdmann 99). The tactics will depend on many factors, including the anatomical features of the heart muscle. How is cardiomyopathy treated:
- Limitation and development of a personal plan of physical activity;
- Adherence to the regimen and lifestyle prescribed by the doctor;
- Drug therapy and taking drugs prescribed by a cardiologist;
- If necessary – surgical methods of intervention.
Traditionally, ACE inhibitors, diuretics, beta-blockers, digoxin, anticoagulants, and antiarrhythmic drugs are used to treat cardiomyopathy. However, one of the most important steps in treatment is disease prevention. With early diagnosis of the disease, it can be prevented from becoming chronic (Moretti and Erdmann 101). Most patients who receive professional care early on live full and prosperous lives. At the first symptom, a patient needs to consult a cardiologist and make a diagnosis.
Scientific Approach
The etiology of this pathology has not been fully understood to date. There are a number of probable causes that can cause the development of cardiomyopathy:
- Hereditary predisposition (a genetic defect that causes the improper formation and functioning of myocardial muscle fibers);
- Various viral infections (Coxsackie, herpes, flu);
- Previously transferred myocarditis;
- Damage to heart cells toxins and allergens;
- Endocrine regulation disorders (negative effect of growth hormone and catecholamines);
- Disorders of the immune system (Islam 26).
Diagnosis of cardiomyopathy necessarily includes a description of the clinical picture and data from additional studies. The most common method – electrocardiography – allows the patient to record signs of hypertrophy of the heart muscle to identify various forms of rhythm and conduction disturbances. Echocardiography is especially informative, which helps to determine myocardial dysfunction. Due to the X-ray data, dilatation (a persistent increase in the lumen), hypertrophy (an increase in volume and mass) of the heart muscle, as well as congestion in the lungs are detected (Islam 31). In some cases, as part of the diagnosis of cardiomyopathy, ventriculography, as well as probing of the cardiac cavities in order to collect biomaterials for further morphological examination, are indicated.
Medical science has also developed a special treatment for the disease associated with surgery, indicated in extremely severe cases. Among the methods practiced today, one can distinguish septal myotomy, for example, resection of an enlarged part of the interventricular septum and mitral valve replacement, as well as whole heart transplantation. For patients with a high risk of sudden cardiac death, timely implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator, a device for arresting threatening arrhythmias, is of great importance (Daniel and Yang 50). In addition, experts emphasize the need to reduce physical activity and adhere to a diet, an important condition for which is to limit the consumption of animal fats and salt. It is strongly recommended to exclude bad habits and the impact of negative external factors. Compliance with these recommendations will significantly reduce the load on the myocardium and slow the progression of heart failure.
Consequences of the Disease
With regard to cardiomyopathy, the prognosis is unfavorable: the steady progression of heart failure becomes the cause of a high probability of arrhythmic and thromboembolic complications, as well as the sudden death of the patient. According to statistics, with dilated cardiomyopathy, the 5-year survival rate is 30% (Daniel and Yang 72). Planned treatment can stabilize the patient’s condition indefinitely, and there are also known cases of exceeding the 10-year survival rate after heart transplant surgery (Daniel and Yang 73). Surgical treatment, for example, for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, gives a positive result but is associated with a high risk of death of the patient during or after surgery. Women who have been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy are not recommended to become pregnant since gestation and childbirth are associated with a high probability of maternal death.
Conclusion
The considered disease, although common among the population, is rather difficult its treatment and research. One of the reasons is that science has not finally established the root causes of the appearance of cardiomyopathy, from which there is no most effective prevention. Meanwhile, experts can draw certain conclusions from the existing knowledge; therefore, at the moment, there are several types of treatment, the symptoms are known, and recommendations for combating the disease are presented.
Works Cited
Daniel, Iroegbu C. and Yang, Jinfu. Compendium on Cardiomyopathies – Basics, Therapeutics, and Perspectives. Bentham Science Publishers, 2020.
Islam, Shahidul. (Ed.). Heart Failure: From Research to Clinical Practice. Springer International Publishing, 2018.
Moretti, Alessandra, and Erdmann, Jeanette. (Ed.). Genetic Causes of Cardiac Disease. Springer International Publishing, 2019.