Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Dilated cardiomyopathy, which is the most common form of cardiomyopathy, causes the chambers of the heart to enlarge. When this happens, the heart is weakened and cannot pump blood around the body efficiently. This affects the lungs, liver and other systems in the body.

Symptoms and Signs of Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is often diagnosed when the doctor is examining the patient for heart failure. The conditions often occur together. Cardiomyopathy symptoms include:

  • Cough
  • Fatigue, weakness, feeling faint
  • In adults, need to urinate at night
  • In children, failure to thrive
  • Poor appetite
  • Rapid or irregular pulse
  • Shortness of breath after lying down or being asleep
  • Shortness of breath with exercise
  • Swelling of the feet and ankles
  • Swollen liver

In diagnosing the disease, the doctor may tap on the chest over the area above the heart. By doing this, the doctor may be able to tell if the heart is enlarged. Listening to the chest with a stethoscope may indicate that the patient has crackling sounds in the lungs, a heart murmur, or other abnormal sounds. The liver may be enlarged and the veins of the neck might be bulging.

Laboratory tests may be performed to find out the cause of the cardiomyopathy. These may include:

  • Tests such as antinuclear antibody, erythrocyte sedimentation rates, and other tests to diagnose autoimmune diseases
  • An antibody test to determine if the patient has certain infections, such as Lyme disease or HIV
  • Tests such as serum TSH and T4 tests to find out if the patient has thyroid problems
  • Tests to detect heart enlargement, lung congestion, decreased heart motion, poor heart functioning, or heart failure may include echocardiogram, cardiac stress tests, cardiac catheterization and coronary angiography, a CT scan or MRI image of the heart, chest X-ray, nuclear scan of the heart
  • Biopsy of heart tissue

Treatment of Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Treating dilated cardiomyopathy emphasizes treating heart failure, since the conditions usually occur together. These treatments include:

  • Changing lifestyle such as proper diet
  • Recognizing the symptoms of heart failure and contacting the doctor when these symptoms change
  • Taking certain medications
  • Having a pacemaker implanted to regulate the heartbeat
  • Having a defibrillator implanted which senses serious heart rhythm abnormalities and emits an electrical impulse to correct them
  • Having a heart transplant when all other standard types of treatment fail

Crestor® and Cardiomyopathy

Some researchers believe that Crestor® and other statins might increase a patient’s risk for cardiomyopathy. If you are diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and have taken Crestor®, you should speak with an attorney about the possibility of recovering compensation for your damages. To find out if you qualify, contact our Crestor® cardiomyopathy lawyers today.