To diagnose a cardiomyopathy, a doctor will use many of the standard tools for examining the heart. First, he or she will listen to the heart with a stethoscope. This may provide an accurate diagnosis, as some cardiomyopathies, especially hypertrophic and dilated, cause distinctive heart beats. The diagnosis will be confirmed and more information gathered with a CT (CAT) Scan, MRI, chest x-ray, echocardiogram or electrocardiogram. Biopsy or cardiac catheterization may also be necessary.
Treatment depends on the underlying cause. If alcohol or drug use is the cause, the patient should abstain. If a sedentary lifestyle and poor eating habits have caused the problem, as is often the case with ischemic cardiomyopathy, then a lifestyle change is necessary to extend life. Drugs such as beta-blockers and calcium channel blockers reduce the heart’s resistance to expanding and contracting.
If that treatment is not enough, surgery may be warranted. Bypass surgery and coronary stent implantation can be used for ischemic cardiomyopathy. Surgery can relieve the symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy but it cannot cure it. Heart transplants are also an option; dilated cardiomyopathy is the most common reason for heart transplants. You can learn more about transplants and the recent successful artificial heart transplant by doing a search at the top of the page.
