• Home

Home > Medical Reference > Encyclopedia (English)

Toggle: English / Spanish

Restrictive cardiomyopathy

• Overview
• Symptoms
• Treatment

Definition:

Restrictive cardiomyopathy refers to a group of disorders in which the heart chambers are unable to fill with blood properly because of stiffness of the heart. In restrictive cardiomyopathy, the heart is normal in size or only slightly enlarged, but it cannot relax normally during diastole (that is, the time between heartbeats in which the blood returns from the body to the heart).

Later in the disease, the heart may not pump blood efficiently. The abnormal heart function can affect the lungs, liver, and other body systems. Restrictive cardiomyopathy may affect either or both ventricles and may or may not be associated with a disease of the heart muscle .

Alternative Names:

Cardiomyopathy - restrictive; Infiltrative cardiomyopathy

Causes, incidence, and risk factors:

The most common causes of restrictive cardiomyopathy are amyloidosis and idiopathic myocardial fibrosis (a scarring of the heart of unknown cause). It frequently occurs after a heart transplant.

Other causes of restrictive cardiomyopathy include sarcoidosis, hemochromatosis, radiation fibrosis, and various tumor infiltrations of the heart. More rarely, restrictive cardiomyopathy is caused by diseases of the endocardium (the lining of the heart) such as endomyocardial fibrosis and Loeffler's syndrome.

• Review Date: 5/31/2006
• Reviewed By: Glenn Gandelman, MD, MPH, Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, New York Medical College, Valhalla, NY. Review provided by VeriMed Healthcare Network.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org). URAC's accreditation program is the first of its kind, requiring compliance with 53 standards of quality and accountability, verified by independent audit. A.D.A.M. is among the first to achieve this important distinction for online health information and services. Learn more about A.D.A.M.'s editorial process . A.D.A.M. is also a founding member of Hi-Ethics (www.hiethics.com) and subscribes to the principles of the Health on the Net Foundation (www.hon.ch).

The information provided herein should not be used during any medical emergency or for the diagnosis or treatment of any medical condition. A licensed physician should be consulted for diagnosis and treatment of any and all medical conditions. Call 911 for all medical emergencies. Links to other sites are provided for information only -- they do not constitute endorsements of those other sites. Copyright 1997-2007 A.D.A.M., Inc. Any duplication or distribution of the information contained herein is strictly prohibited.