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Basics

• Summary
• Start Here
• Diagnosis and Tests

Learn More

• Related Issues
• Specifics
• Genetics

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• Videos and Tutorials

Research

• Clinical Trials
• Journal Articles

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• Reference Desk
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For You

• Children
• Patient Handouts

Summary

Cardiomyopathy is the name for diseases of the heart muscle. These diseases enlarge your heart muscle or make it thicker and more rigid than normal. In rare cases, scar tissue replaces the muscle tissue.

Some people live long, healthy lives with cardiomyopathy. Some people don't even realize they have it. In others, however, it can make the heart less able to pump blood through the body. This can cause serious complications, including:

• Heart failure
• Abnormal heart rhythms
• Heart valve problems
• Sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)

Heart attacks, high blood pressure, infections, and other diseases can all cause cardiomyopathy. Some types of cardiomyopathy run in families. In many people, however, the cause is unknown. Treatment might involve medicines, surgery, other medical procedures, and lifestyle changes.

NIH: National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Start Here

• Cardiomyopathy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish
• Cardiomyopathy (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• What Is Cardiomyopathy? (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute)

Diagnosis and Tests

• Heart Health Tests: MedlinePlus Health Topic (National Library of Medicine) Also in Spanish

Related Issues

• Diastolic Dysfunction (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• Myocarditis (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Myocarditis and Pericarditis after mRNA COVID-19 Vaccination (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention)
• Sudden Death in Young People: Heart Problems Often Blamed (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) Also in Spanish

Specifics

• Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) (American Academy of Family Physicians) Also in Spanish
• Dilated Cardiomyopathy (Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research)
• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) (American Heart Association)
• Is Broken Heart Syndrome Real? (American Heart Association)
• Restrictive Cardiomyopathy (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish

Genetics

• Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Barth syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Danon disease: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Dilated cardiomyopathy with ataxia syndrome: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Early-onset myopathy with fatal cardiomyopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Familial dilated cardiomyopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Familial restrictive cardiomyopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• Keratoderma with woolly hair: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)
• X-linked dilated cardiomyopathy: MedlinePlus Genetics (National Library of Medicine)

Videos and Tutorials

• Cardiomyopathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish

Clinical Trials

• ClinicalTrials.gov: Cardiomyopathies (National Institutes of Health)

Journal Articles References and abstracts from MEDLINE/PubMed (National Library of Medicine)

• Article: What's new in cardiac amyloidosis? Pharmacological treatment, physical activity, and care...
• Article: HIV Protein Nef Induces Cardiomyopathy Through Induction of Bcl2 and p21.
• Article: Outcomes of peripartum cardiomyopathy in North Africa: insights from a single-center...
• Cardiomyopathy -- see more articles

Reference Desk

• Heart Anatomy (Texas Heart Institute) Also in Spanish
• How the Heart Works (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) Also in Spanish

Find an Expert

• American Heart Association
• National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute

Children

• Cardiomyopathy in Children and Teens (American Academy of Pediatrics) Also in Spanish
• Causes of Cardiomyopathy (Children's Cardiomyopathy Foundation)
• Myocarditis (For Parents) (Nemours Foundation) Also in Spanish

Patient Handouts

• Cardiomyopathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Dilated cardiomyopathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Electrocardiogram (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish
• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (Medical Encyclopedia) Also in Spanish