Cardiomyopathy is a condition that doesn’t always get the attention it deserves. It affects around one in 250 people, yet many patients have never heard of it until they, or someone close to them, receives a diagnosis. More importantly, it’s one of the leading causes of sudden cardiac death in young people – which is precisely why early recognition matters so much.
The good news is that this is a condition we can detect and treat. If you have symptoms that concern you, or a family history that puts you at higher risk, please don’t wait.
What Is Cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy is an umbrella term for a group of conditions that all affect the heart muscle and its ability to pump blood around the body effectively. Some cause the muscle to thicken abnormally, others cause the heart to enlarge and weaken, and others disrupt the heart’s electrical system. The types differ in how they affect the heart, but share a common concern: if left unrecognised, the consequences can be serious.
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Symptoms To Watch For
The symptoms we’d encourage you to take seriously include unexplained tiredness, shortness of breath, dizziness, chest pain, ankle swelling, palpitations, and fainting or near-fainting, particularly during or after exercise. It’s worth noting that some people have no symptoms at all in the early stages – which is one reason cardiomyopathy is so easy to miss.
None of these symptoms on their own necessarily points to cardiomyopathy, but taken together, or in the context of a relevant family history, they warrant proper investigation.
The Importance of Family History
Many forms of cardiomyopathy are genetic, which means it often runs in families. I’d encourage you to seek assessment if a close family member has been diagnosed with cardiomyopathy, if there is a history of unexplained sudden death at a young age in your family, or if a relative has needed a pacemaker or implantable defibrillator. In these situations, screening is appropriate even without symptoms — identifying the condition before it causes problems.
How We Assess You
If you come to see me with concerns about cardiomyopathy, I’ll take a full history, examine your heart and lungs, and carry out an ECG, which records the electrical activity of your heart and can reveal patterns associated with the condition. If anything gives cause for concern, I’ll refer you promptly to one of our local consultant cardiologists for further investigation – which might include an echocardiogram, cardiac MRI, or genetic testing depending on the picture.
Cardiomyopathy is treatable. Options include medication to manage symptoms and reduce risk, implantable devices such as pacemakers or defibrillators, and surgery for certain types. The earlier the diagnosis, the greater the range of options available and the better the outcome tends to be.
A Personal Note: Cycling for Cardiomyopathy UK
I want to share why this condition is particularly close to me. In July, eleven of us are cycling 270 miles from Exeter to Brentwood over three days, in memory of a great friend, Mike Polden, whom we lost twenty-five years ago this year to cardiomyopathy. Mike went to university in Exeter and to school at Brentwood School, and those two places felt like the right ones to begin and end the journey. His old schoolmates haven’t forgotten him. The training is going well, if rather more arduous than I’d anticipated.
We’re raising money for Cardiomyopathy UK, who do excellent work funding research into the condition and supporting patients and families affected by it. If you’d like to donate, our JustGiving page is at justgiving.com/page/tom-robson-1. Any contribution would mean a great deal.
The Cardiomyopathy UK website is also well worth a visit if you’d like to read more about the condition, what assessment involves, and the support available to those affected.
Book an Assessment
If you’re experiencing any of the symptoms described, have a relevant family history, or simply want reassurance, please do book in. We can go through your history, examine your heart, and arrange an ECG as a starting point. If further specialist input is needed, We”l make sure you’re referred promptly. Cardiomyopathy is detectable and treatable – and the earlier we find it, the better placed we are to protect your health in the long term.
Dr Tom Robson
