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Restrictive cardiomyopathy - Symptom

Alternative Names

Cardiomyopathy - restrictive; Infiltrative cardiomyopathy

Symptoms:

Symptoms of heart failure are most common. Usually, these symptoms develop slowly over time. However, sometimes symptoms start very suddenly and are severe.

Common symptoms are:

Other symptoms may include:

  • Chest pain
  • Decreased alertness or concentration
  • Failure to thrive (in children)
  • Low urine production
  • Need to urinate at night (in adults)
  • Shock (low blood pressure)

Signs and tests:

An examination may show:

  • Enlarged (distended) or bulging neck veins
  • Enlarged liver
  • Lung crackles and abnormal or distant heart sounds when listening to the chest with a stethoscope (auscultation)
  • Fluid backup into the hands and feet
  • Signs of heart failure

Children will have:

  • Difficulty feeding
  • Pale skin
  • Poor growth
  • Weak pulses in the legs and arms

Tests for restrictive cardiomyopathy include:

Restrictive cardiomyopathy may be hard to tell apart from constrictive pericarditis. A biopsy of the heart muscle or cardiac catheterization may help confirm the diagnosis.

  • Reviewed last on: 5/17/2010
  • Michael A. Chen, MD, PhD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Harborview Medical Center, University of Washington Medical School, Seattle, Washington. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

References

Hare JM. The dilated, restrictive, and infiltrative cardiomyopathies. In: Libby P, Bonow RO, Mann DL, Zipes DP. Braunwald's Heart Disease: A Textbook of Cardiovascular Medicine. 8th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier; 2007:chap 64.

Wexler RK, Elton T, Pleister A, Feldman D. Cardiomyopathy: An overview. Am Fam Physician. 2009;79:778-784.

Bernstein D. Diseases of the myocardium. In: Kliegman RM, Behrman RE, Jenson HB, Stanton BF, eds. Nelson Textbook of Pediatrics. 18th ed. Philadelphia, Pa: Saunders Elsevier;2007:chap 439.

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