Clinical features

Dilated cardiomyopathy

The symptoms are those of heart failure, such as: -

• Shortness of breath,
• Very poor exercise tolerance,
• Fainting or even collapse,
• Chest pain,
• Palpitation,
• Ankle swelling.

The person may develop heart murmurs due to leaking heart valves.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

The patients may present with:

• Chest pain on exertion,
• Shortness of breath on exertion, due to impaired relaxation of the heart muscle,
• Palpitation, as a result of an abnormal heart rhythm,
• Fainting, usually after exertion,
• Sudden death (which may be the first indication of a problem),
• Some people are identified by family screening.

In some people, the flow of blood into the aorta from the left ventricle is blocked by the thickened heart muscle walls and this is called hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM).

Restrictive Cardiomyopathy ("Infiltrative")

Many of the features of restrictive cardiomyopathy are similar to those of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Symptoms are:

• Back pressure from the inability of the heart to fill and pump properly (i.e. fatigue on exertion, swollen hands and feet and breathlessness i.e. heart failure).
• Also there may be abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias) and the sensation of palpitation.
• Symptoms are much worse during exercise than at rest.
• This is true of all cardiac conditions.

(In restrictive cardiomyopathy, the heart can normally meet the body’s needs for blood and oxygen during rest).

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventriclular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC)

• There may be no symptoms, if the person is not seriously affected by the condition,
• Palpitation, related to arrhythmias,
• Weakness, faintness, light headedness,
• Collapse or blackout,
• Symptoms due to right heart failure which occurs less commonly than arrhythmias, in this condition.