Cardiomyopathy

For a lay person:

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood. It can be inherited or caused by things such as heavy drinking, viral infection, pregnancy or some cancer treatments. It can lead to heart failure and abnormal heart rhythms.

For a trained medical person:

Main phenotypes are dilated, hypertrophic, restrictive and arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy, with genetic, toxic (alcohol, anthracyclines), inflammatory, ischaemic-excluded and infiltrative causes. Diagnosis is by echocardiography and cardiac MRI, with ECG, ambulatory monitoring, genetic testing and family screening as indicated. Management follows heart-failure guidelines with disease-modifying drugs, arrhythmia management, implantable defibrillators for high-risk patients and specific therapies for hypertrophic or infiltrative forms.

In Chinese medicine:

Liu and Tseng's textbook differentiates this condition into these patterns: Qi Stagnation and Blood Stasis; Accumulated Phlegm and Blood Stasis; Both Qi and Yin Deficiency; Congested Fluid Attacking Heart; Yang Qi About to Collapse. Treatment follows the pattern a patient presents with, not the Western diagnosis alone.

When to get help: Get emergency care for chest pain, fainting, sudden severe breathlessness or breathlessness when lying flat. Herbs can interact with heart-failure drugs and anticoagulants, and liquorice can cause fluid retention and low potassium, so check with your cardiologist.