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Essay On Cardiomyopathy

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“[...] 1 in every 100,000 children in the U.S. under the age of 18 is diagnosed with cardiomyopathy” (“Understand Pediatric” 1). This condition affects many children throughout the world. Some cases of cardiomyopathy are fatal, some allow the child to live with restrictions. Cardiomyopathy is the leading cause of death and heart transplants in children (“Understand Pediatric” 1). There are many different ways to help diagnose the numerous forms of this disorder, treatments to help stop other problems from occurring, and therapies to help the restrictions some may live with. Various medical fields have been looking into and studying what the leading causes could be for this disorder ("Progress to date" 1). There are many symptoms a child can show for a doctor to see in order for them …show more content…

These separate forms of the condition come with distinct traits that vary from one to the next. Dilated cardiomyopathy, “The most common form, this occurs when the muscle fibers of one or both pumping chambers are weak and unable to contract normally” (“Understand Pediatric” 1). Which means that the heart beats abnormally due to lack of blood flow. Often with DCM the heart is weak and fails because it cannot sufficiently pump blood throughout the body (“Understanding Pediatric” 1). The article on “Understanding Pediatric Cardiomyopathy” states that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the second most common form. HCM has a few characteristics that can be mistaken for dilated cardiomyopathy. Thick and stiff muscles may stop the heart from contracting properly, which may narrow the passageways for blood to move out of the heart (“Understanding Pediatric” 1). So, the muscles within the heart thicken to try and help blood flow. In an advanced form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, there is a chance that the muscles may thin to try to help the poor pumping action (“Understanding Pediatric” 1). When HCM tries to help the body it, in itself, can cause failure. A

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