Restrictive Cardiomyopathy

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is rare. It can develop at any age and is more frequent in children. The walls of the heart chambers become stiff. Because of this, the ventricles do not relax and do not fill with enough blood to pump to the rest of the body which can lead to symptoms of heart failure such as shortness of breath, fatigue, and ankle swelling, as well as heart rhythm problems. In many cases, the cause is unknown, although sometimes the condition can be inherited. It may affect up to 1 in 500 persons. However, restrictive cardiomyopathy is the least common form of cardiomyopathy; it accounts for just around 5% of all cardiomyopathies.

If you have one of the following conditions, you may develop restrictive cardiomyopathy:

Amyloidosis
Connective tissue disease
Iron overload
Sarcoidosis
You may develop restrictive cardiomyopathy after some cancer treatments, like chemotherapy or radiotherapy.

A physical examination will be conducted by your cardiologist to identify restrictive cardiomyopathy. Your cardiologist will check your blood pressure and listen to your heartbeat. The following tests could be done:

Blood tests
Chest x-ray
Electrocardiogram
Echocardiogram
Exercise stress test
Heart CT and MRI

Restrictive cardiomyopathy has no specific treatment. Your cardiologist will deal with the underlying cause of your illness. If you exhibit signs of heart failure, your doctor might prescribe:

Corticosteroids (if you have sarcoidosis)
Diuretics
Medications to treat heartbeat irregularities (Ex: atenolol, bisoprolol)
Medications to treat certain types of amyloidosis
Heart transplant surgery in the severe cases