Cardiomyopathy - restrictive; Infiltrative cardiomyopathy

Symptoms of heart failure are most common. Usually, these symptoms develop slowly over time. However, sometimes symptoms start very suddenly and are severe.

Common symptoms are:

• Cough
• Difficulty breathing
  • At night
  • Especially with exertion
  • When lying flat
• Fatigue , poor exercise tolerance
• Irregular or rapid pulse
• Loss of appetite
• Swelling of the abdomen
• Swelling of the feet and ankles

Other symptoms may include:

• Chest pain
• Decreased alertness or concentration
• Failure to thrive (in children)
• Low urine production
• Need to urinate at night (in adults)
• Shock (low blood pressure)

An examination may show:

• Enlarged (distended) or bulging neck veins
• Enlarged liver
• Lung crackles and abnormal or distant heart sounds when listening to the chest with a stethoscope (auscultation)
• Fluid backup into the hands and feet
• Signs of heart failure

Children will have:

• Difficulty feeding
• Pale skin
• Poor growth
• Weak pulses in the legs and arms

Tests for restrictive cardiomyopathy include:

• Cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography
• Chest CT scan
• Chest x-ray
• ECG (electrocardiogram)
• Echocardiogram and Doppler study
• MRI of the heart
• Nuclear heart scan (MUGA, RNV)
• Serum iron studies

Restrictive cardiomyopathy may be hard to tell apart from constrictive pericarditis. A biopsy of the heart muscle or cardiac catheterization may help confirm the diagnosis.

Images

Heart, front view

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Restrictive cardiomyopathy Overview

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Restrictive cardiomyopathy Treatment

Review Date: 05/17/2010
Reviewed By: Michael A. Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)