Cardiomyopathy treatment

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that makes it more difficult for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. Cardiomyopathy can lead to heart failure.

The main types of cardiomyopathies include dilated, hypertrophic, and restrictive cardiomyopathy. The types of cardiomyopathy and its severity determine the treatment tactics.

The treatment goals for cardiomyopathy are as follows:

• Elimination of signs and symptoms
• Preventing the condition from worsening
• Reducing the risk of complications

Treatment of cardiomyopathy:

Medications

Non-surgical procedures:

• Alcohol ablation of the heart. A small area of thickened heart muscle is destroyed by injecting alcohol through a long, thin tube (catheter) into the artery that supplies blood to this area.
• Radiofrequency ablation. To treat heart rhythm disorders, doctors guide long, flexible tubes (catheters) through blood vessels to the heart. Electrodes at the tips of the catheters transmit energy to damage the small area of heart tissue that is causing the irregular heart rhythm.

Surgery or other procedures

Various types of devices can be surgically implanted into the heart to improve heart function and relieve symptoms, including:

• Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).
• Ventricular assist device (VAD).

Surgical treatment of cardiomyopathy:

• Septal myectomy
• Heart transplant.