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Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that leads to a weaker heart that is less able to pump blood through the body.
The result can be heart failure, arrhythmias (irregular heartbeat) and heart valve conditions.
Norton Heart & Vascular Institute is a regional leader for treating patients with cardiomyopathy conditions. Our board-certified and fellowship-trained cardiologists and other specialists in the Norton Heart & Vascular Institute Advanced Heart Failure & Recovery Program are at the leading edge of advanced treatments for cardiomyopathy.
Cardiomyopathy in children can be inherited, the result of a viral infection or from an unknown cause. The specialists at Norton Children’s Heart Institute provide sophisticated cardiomyopathy care for children from across Kentucky, Southern Indiana and beyond.
Sometimes cardiomyopathy causes no symptoms, or symptoms emerge as the disease progresses. Symptoms can include:
At the Advanced Heart Failure & Recovery Program we use advanced treatments to try to slow the progress of cardiomyopathy and control the symptoms.
We start by working with you on dietary changes and other lifestyle adjustments, such as physical activity, stress reduction and reduction of alcohol and other drugs. We often have success with lifestyle changes in conjunction with medication.
In addition to medication, implanted devices such as a pacemaker or a cardioverter-defibrillator (either implanted or wearable) can control abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia). Your Advanced Heart Failure & Recovery Program provider may use a sophisticated device to remotely monitor your blood flow daily for subtle changes that can signal a worsening condition.
Our cardiologists may use minimally invasive procedures, such as ablations that carefully destroy small parts of diseased heart to restore blood flow or interrupt abnormal heart rhythms.
In some cases, surgery to remove the thickened part of muscle between the two ventricles is required to improve blood flow through the heart.
Our surgeons have experience and sophisticated training with ventricular assist devices, if necessary as either a long-term solution or a short-term bridge to a heart transplant.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is typically an inherited heart disease which makes the muscle of the left ventricle thicker than normal. The increased heart muscle thickness sometimes reduces the flow of blood out of the heart through the outflow tract resulting in chest pain, shortness of breath, loss of consciousness, fatigue or palpitations. It can cause sudden death in adolescents and young athletes. The condition often appears in childhood, early adulthood or later in life.
As a leader in cardiomyopathy treatment, our providers seek to provide the most advanced treatment options to patients ,including medication. For the most advanced conditions, including hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, our team has the knowledge and resources to provide innovative medication and support the patient’s insurance approval process.
Norton Heart & Vascular Institute offers advanced care at all of our adult-service hospitals to save hearts and lives.
Norton Heart & Vascular Institute offers patient resources to support you and your family, including free classes for people of all ages who want to improve cardiovascular health or are living with a heart condition.