Who Is At Risk Of Developing Cardiomyopathy And How It Can Be Prevented? | Cardiovascular Disorders and Diseases articles | Body & Health Conditions center

Cardiomyopathy is a heart condition that wreaks havoc on the heart's muscle tone, thereby affecting its blood-pumping ability. At least one adult in every 500 suffers from this disease, and many have no idea they have it. Cardiomyopathy can cause heart failure and is a key reason that many patients need a heart transplant.

The fact that cardiomyopathy is not easily recognizable and usually goes untreated is enough to classify it as very dangerous. Younger people are at a higher risk of this form of heart disease, which makes it different from other many other heart conditions.

Understanding your risk of cardiomyopathy

Are you at risk of developing cardiomyopathy? This heart disease can affect you at any time in your life, and doesn't discriminate along ethnic lines. However, different forms of cardiomyopathy show up more often in specific groups of people.

For example, African-Americans are more likely to suffer from dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) than Caucasians, while males also have a higher risk In the case of the rare arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia, however, younger adults and teenagers have higher risk than older adults.

Cardiomyopathy risk: What role do genetics play?

Genetics play a large in the occurrence of cardiomyopathy. Some forms of the disease can be inherited and it is possible for one generation to pass it down to the next. Genetic testing can be conducted. During the process, DNA sequences will be analyzed from blood samples to check whether there are gene mutations that can cause cardiomyopathy.

Where genetic testing reveals the presence of a mutation, family members may undergo testing as well to see if they have similar genetic changes. Here’s the reason — if a parent has the mutation, their child has a 50/50 risk of the same.

Where genetic testing does not reveal a similar genetic change in the child of a patient, it becomes clear that the mutation was not passed from parent to child. This means that the child’s risk of developing cardiomyopathy is significantly lower. On the other hand, if testing shows that the child inherited the mutation, close screening and monitoring are initiated immediately. Throughout their life, they will continue to have echocardiograms.

What this means for you

If you have a mutation that can cause cardiomyopathy, you are genetically predisposed the disease. This does not necessarily mean that you’re suffering cardiomyopathy at present or that you’re bound to develop the condition at some point in your life. However, since there is a risk that cardiomyopathy could occur at any time, you need to get regular screening.

What age groups are at a higher risk of cardiomyopathy?

Anybody can develop cardiomyopathy at any point in their life. However, certain age groups have a higher incidence of some forms of the disease. For instance, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is more likely to occur during adolescence for those who inherit the gene mutation.

What are the major risk factors for cardiomyopathy?

The risk of developing cardiomyopathy can rise steeply if you:

Are a long-term alcohol abuser
Have conditions that damage the heart, like sarcoidosis and hemochromatosis
Have a family history of cardiomyopathy
Suffer from long-term (and especially uncontrolled) hypertension
Are very obese
Have diabetes
Encounter conditions that could result in cardiomyopathy like viral infections, coronary heart disease, or a heart attack

Preventing cardiomyopathy

Some forms of cardiomyopathy can't be prevented, like inherited cardiomyopathy. There are still strategies that can help reduce the risk of developing conditions that could trigger the disease. These conditions include high blood pressure, coronary heart disease, and heart attack.

Since underlying conditions can precipitate cardiomyopathy, it is important to seek medical attention and treatment early to prevent cardiomyopathy complications. Strategies that can help to manage and treat these underlying conditions include visiting your doctor regularly for checkups, strictly adhering to your doctor's instructions, and sticking to your prescribed medications.

Your risk of developing cardiomyopathy, as well as a wide range of heart diseases, is reduced if you live a lifestyle that promotes a healthy heart.

It is vital to adopt positive lifestyle changes like:

Regular exercise
Stress management
Getting adequate sleep
Avoiding drugs and alcohol
Eating healthy
Avoiding caffeine as much as possible
Controlling high blood pressure, as well as diabetes and high cholesterol levels.

What you can do about cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy threatens lives, and where severe damage takes place early in life, it could reduce your life expectancy. Over time, the disease can become worse but treatments may help to give you a longer life. What treatments do is to slow the rate at which your heart condition declines. There are also technologies that can assist your heart to carry out its functions. Be willing to make positive changes to your lifestyle so that your heart can improve.

It is not always easy to keep up with an exercise regime because people with an affected heart can easily get tired. However, it is vital to exercise to keep your heart in good shape and maintain a healthy weight. Consult your doctor regularly and stick to the recommendations that you receive.