A general medical term that describes an abnormal heart muscle. There are different kinds of abnormalities that can occur in the heart muscle:
Dilated cardiomyopathy: the heart muscle becomes weak.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: the heart muscle becomes thick.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy: the heart muscle becomes inelastic.
Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy: the heart muscle develops arrhythmias spontaneously.
Non-compaction cardiomyopathy: the heart muscle distorts in shape and size.
Stress-induced cardiomyopathy: also known as “takosubo cardiomyopathy” or broken heart syndrome. The heart muscle becomes weakened as a response to emotional or physiological stress.
Ischemic cardiomyopathy: the heart muscle does not function as it’s supposed to because of poor blood flow.
Cardiomyopathies can happen as a result of other medical conditions or situations or can be inherited. Symptoms are usually those of heart failure, but can also be chest pain, shortness of breath or passing out.
Weak Heart (Dilated cardiomyopathy)
Thick Heart (Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy)
« Back to Glossary Index