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Dilated Cardiomyopathy Case Study

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Dr. Volk had several different heart issues that resulted in his eventual heart transplant. One of the issues was called dilated cardiomyopathy, or the enlargement of chambers of the heart that typically starts with the enlargement of the left ventricle (American Heart Association, 2016). When a heart is enlarged too much the cardiac muscles can’t work as efficiently resulting in weaker contractions. Since his left ventricle was enlarged he was unable to pump a sufficient amount of blood to his body (American Heart Association, 2016). This resulted in Dr. Volk’s body not getting sufficient oxygen or nutrients. When blood enters a normal sized heart the cardiac muscles are stretched to an ideal length based on the length-tension relationship

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