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Cardiomyopathy Symptoms

The most important reason to recognize cardiomyopathy symptoms is that those who suffer from cardiomyopathy are at a high risk of sudden and severe heart failure. 

Cardiomyopathy symptoms generally depend on the type of cardiomyopathy you suffer from.  While many of them are very similar, some forms of cardiomyopathy do not have any symptoms at all.

Cardiomyopathy Symptoms

Dilated cardiomyopathy symptoms typically include fatigue (being tired or weary), shortness of breath (most often after exercise or physical exertion), and difficulty breathing when lying down.  These are all related to the deceased ability to pump blood, which affects the lungs and brain.  Palpations (irregular heartbeat) are also common.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy symptoms also include shortness of breath after exertion, dizziness, fainting, fatigue and angina (chest pain).  That said, however, this is one of the types that often shows no cardiomyopathy symptoms.  Instead, heart rhythm problems can potentially develop. 

This is difficult to detect by anyone other than a doctor, which does not necessarily make it a cardiomyopathy symptom, but a cardiomyopathy sign.  These abnormal rhythms, however, can lead to unexpected and sudden death. 

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy quite usually runs in families; so if you are at risk, get checked by your doctor regularily.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy symptoms include shortness of breath again, leg swelling, fatigue and possibly an enlarged liver.

The potential consquence of ignoring these symptoms (i.e. ignoring cardiomyopathy) is a high risk of heart attack and death.  So while these cardiomyopathy symptoms do not necessarily indicate a positive diagnosis, any unusual heart or lung behavior should be checked by a doctor a soon as possible.