Cardiomyopathy in people over 65

There is an increased incidence of ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy in elderly patients, (10% of people who develop dilated cardiomyopathy are likely to be over 65 years). This is because of diffuse coronary artery disease; the heart muscle is deprived of blood supply, and the end result is scar tissue replacing the ischaemic muscle with hypertrophy of the remaining muscle to compensate.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy may occur as a result of the deposition of amyloid protein in the heart, and amyloidosis is more common in older people.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy occurs in about 4% of older people, and this figure may be an underestimate.

Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy (ARVC) usually affects younger people