Emphysema is a lung disease involving damage to the air sacs (alveoli).There is progressive destruction of alveoli and the surrounding tissue that supports them. As the disease gets worse, large air cysts take the place of normal lung tissue. Air is trapped in the lungs.
- Cardiomyopathies due to various causes, including birth defects, HIV infection, and other infections.
- In rare cases, heart failure can occur in women around the time of childbirth, a condition called peripartum cardiomyopathy.
 | Click the icon to see an image of peripartum cardiomyopathy. |
- An overactive thyroid (hyperthyroidism) or underactive thyroid (hypothyroidism) can have severe effects on the heart and increase the risk for heart failure.
- Amyloidosis. With this disease, a starchy protein (amyloid) that builds up in tissues and organs, can lead to heart failure.
- Surviving childhood cancers. Survivors face a risk for developing heart failure in later years, particularly those treated with chemotherapies such as doxorubicin. Newer cancer advances may reduce this risk.
- Acute myocarditis. This rare viral infection involves the heart muscle and can produce temporary but potentially life-threatening heart failure.
Medications Associated with Heart Failure
Thiamin (a vitamin B) deficiency can lead to reversible cardiomyopathy. Long-term use of anabolic steroids (male hormones used to build muscle mass) increases the risk for heart failure. The drug itraconazole (Sporanox), taken orally for skin, nail, or other fungal infections, has been linked to heart failure in a small number of cases.
Previous Section
