Category:Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathies are diseases affecting the cardiac myocardium causing dysfunction. Primary cardiomyopathies are characterized by having an unknown cause while secondary cardiomyopathies have an identifiable cause. The primary cardiomyopathies will be the centre of our discussion.

There are four types of primary cardiomyopathies:

1. Dilated Cardiomyopathies
2. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathies
3. Restrictive Cardiomyopathies
4. Intermediate/Unclassified Cardiomyopathies - occur when the cardiomyopathy does not match the normal diagnostic checklist for either dilated or hypertrophic cardiomyopathies. Not enough information is available on this condition at this time.

The first three are the most common idiopathic cardiomyopathies.

There are five types of secondary cardiomyopathies:

1. Infectious (e.g. Parvovirus, Toxoplasmosis)
2. Infiltrative (e.g. Neoplasia)
3. Metabolic (e.g. Endocrine disorders)
4. Nutritional (e.g. L-Carnitine deficiency, Taurine deficiency)
5. Toxic (e.g. Lead, Doxorubicin, Monensin)