Symptoms And Treatment Of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

The prevalence of congestive heart failure is on the increase both in the United States and all over the world, and it is the leading cause of hospitalization in the elderly population. Congestive heart failure is a progressive disease generally seen in the elderly, which if not properly managed, can lead to repeated hospital admissions or death. Heart failure means that the heart muscle is weakened. A weakened heart muscle may not be strong enough to pump an adequate amount of blood out of its chambers. To compensate for its diminished pumping capacity, the heart may enlarge. Commonly, the heart's pumping inefficiency causes a buildup of blood in the

As cardiomyopathy progresses, the heart becomes weaker and is less able to pump blood normally. This results in heart failure. There are different types of cardiomyopathy- hypertrophic, dilated, and restrictive. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy occurs when the heart muscle cells enlarge which causes the thickening of the left ventricular wall. Although the ventricle size stays normal, the thickening makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. In some cases, the septum also thickens and expands to the left ventricle which causes a blockage of blood flow out of the left ventricle. The cause of the disease is unknown but hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is usually caused by changes in the genes in heart muscle proteins. It can also develop due to

Despite the absence of a cure or preventative measures for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, there have been notable advances in both diagnostic techniques and successful treatments available.

This is weakness in the muscle of the heart not attributable to any extrinsic cause. Actually, most intrinsic Cardiomyopathy can be traced back to some sort

Fackelmann’s report shows a case where Sergei Grinkov, a two-time gold medalist ice skater, collapsed and died from sudden cardiac death. She then explains that these deaths have struck athletes from high school team players to professional players. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common cardiovascular disease responsible for sudden death. In many cases physical exertion triggers sudden death. There is not a simple test to detect all cardiovascular diseases and screening is suggested in a family with a history of sudden cardiac death.

In cardiomyopathy the heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick or rigid, and in rare cases the muscle tissue can be replaced with scar tissue. As this disease worsens, the heart becomes weaker and unable to pump blood normally through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. This can lead to heart failure or irregular heartbeats. The weakening of the heart also can lead to other problems such as heart valve problems. Cardiomyopathy can be acquired or inherited. It can affect people of all ages. There are various types of cardiomyopathy includes, hypertrophic, dilated, restrictive cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia and unclassified cardiomyopathy. Some people with cardiomyopathy will never have any signs and symptoms. But in some people the signs and symptoms will develop in the early stages of the disease. As cardiomyopathy worsens and the heart weakens, signs and symptoms of heart failure usually occur. The signs and symptoms of cardiomyopathy includes, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, especially with physical exertion, fatigue, swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neck. Other signs and symptoms may include dizziness, light-headedness, fainting during physical activity, irregular heartbeats, chest pain, especially after physical exertion or heavy meals, and heart murmurs. The treatment of cardiomyopathy include lifestyle changes, medicines, surgery, implanted devices to correct arrhythmias (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,

Congestive heart failure (CHF) is a syndrome that occurs when the heart cannot pump sufficient blood to meet the tissues metabolic and oxygen needs. As a result, intravascular/ interstitial volume overload and poor tissue perfusion occurs. An individual with heart failure experiences reduced exercise tolerance, a reduced quality of life and shortened life span. The most common cause of heart failure is coronary artery disease (CAD). The incidence of heart failure increases with age. Approximately 1% of people over the age of 50 and 10% of people over the age of 80 experience heart failure. The prognosis depends on underlying cause and response to treatment. Heart failure may be classified according to the side of the heart affected.

Approximately, 1 of every 500 people is affected with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, it is important for patients to understand the dynamics of the disease as it could potentially be life threatening. In most cases, the patients quality of life is not affected, but a few will experience symptoms that cause significant discomfort or undetected complications that could lead to sudden cardiac death. With that in mind, it would be beneficial to recognize what it is, specific causes, the steps of diagnoses, and the options for treatment.

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle. It is where the ventricular structure is impaired. The heart muscle

HCM happens when the heart muscle enlarges and thickens without an obvious cause. Usually the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, and septum thicken. The thickened areas create narrowing or blockages in the ventricles, making it harder for the heart to pump blood; however, in very few instances the heart actually contracts with much greater force causing an obstruction to the blood flow (CMUK, 2015). HCM also can cause stiffness of the ventricles, changes in the mitral valve, and cellular changes in the heart tissue.

"Congestive Heart Failure is the Inability of the heart to maintain the demands of pumping blood with normal efficiency to other organs, such as the brain, liver, and kidneys" (Congestive heart failure, 2008). Without the heart carrying out its functions, all the organs in the body would be deprived of sufficient blood to do its work, the kidney will no longer filter its blood leading to fluid accumulation in areas such as the lungs, liver, legs, and surrounding eye, when this happens, it is called congestive heart failure. "Cardiomyopathy is a situation where there are changes in the heart muscle which prevent part or all the heart from contracting normally" ("Cardiomyopathy,” 2013). This situation could be acquired or inherited problem of the heart muscles resulting in thickness or expansion of the heart making it difficult to pump required blood that the body needed. In this paper, the writer would have the opportunity to discuss the best approach to care that Mr. P battling cardiomyopathy and CHF deserve, the treatment and education he needed that would help him, the method of education, and the teaching care plan.

According to the US Census Bureau, population estimates in 2004, in the United States it is estimated that approximately .02% of the population is effected by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Which is two in

Risk for having CAD or established CAD, previous MI or heart failure with decreased ejection fraction and ventricular arrhythmias are the known risk factors for SCD[17, 136]. The estimated incidence rate of SCD in infants, children, adolescents, and young adults is about 1.3 to 8.5 per 100,000 patient/years [137] but it still costs to thousands life per year. Sudden infant death syndrome accounting for approximately 10% of the crib death is believed to be due to cardiac arrhythmia or long QT syndrome [138]. A study suggest that out of 158 deaths of American athletes, 30% were due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and 13% due to abnormal blood circulation, 10% due to increased cardiac mass due to cardiomyopathy [139]. Another study suggest 20% death due to CAD and 10% deaths due to right ventricular cardiomyopathy/ dysplasia in young population [140]. Patients suffering from SCD with normal heart or without any cardiac disease history, on autopsy show structural abnormalities. Sudden unexplained deaths are also a major concern in epidemiology of SCD and careful post-mortem and histological examination can play a vital role [17]. In a study with 270 autopsies 55 were found to have structural heart disease and a specific cause for death were found in 180 cases with 65% having CAD, 14% with congenital anomalies and 11% with myocarditis. Left

“[...] 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

As this disease progresses and the workload of the heart is consistently increased, ventricular hypertrophy occurs. At first, the hypertrophied heart muscles will increase contractility, thus increasing cardiac output; however, as hypertrophy of the ventricular myocardial cells continues, it begins to have poor contractility, requires more oxygen to perform, and has poor circulation from the coronary arteries. This can result in heart tissue ischemia and lead into cardiac dysrhythmias (Lewis et al. 2014, 768).