Dilated Cardiomyopathy and The Role of Autoimmunity in Cardiovascular Diseases

In cardiomyopathy the heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick or rigid, and in rare cases the muscle tissue can be replaced with scar tissue. As this disease worsens, the heart becomes weaker and unable to pump blood normally through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. This can lead to heart failure or irregular heartbeats. The weakening of the heart also can lead to other problems such as heart valve problems. Cardiomyopathy can be acquired or inherited. It can affect people of all ages. There are various types of cardiomyopathy includes, hypertrophic, dilated, restrictive cardiomyopathy, Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia and unclassified cardiomyopathy. Some people with cardiomyopathy will never have any signs and symptoms. But in some people the signs and symptoms will develop in the early stages of the disease. As cardiomyopathy worsens and the heart weakens, signs and symptoms of heart failure usually occur. The signs and symptoms of cardiomyopathy includes, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, especially with physical exertion, fatigue, swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen, and veins in the neck. Other signs and symptoms may include dizziness, light-headedness, fainting during physical activity, irregular heartbeats, chest pain, especially after physical exertion or heavy meals, and heart murmurs. The treatment of cardiomyopathy include lifestyle changes, medicines, surgery, implanted devices to correct arrhythmias (National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute,

Myocarditis is inflammation of the middle wall of the heart that is caused by infection. The causes of this infection is other infections such as upper respiratory infections, lime disease, cocaine use or other toxic chemical exposure such as spider bites, metal poison, or snake bites but all of which are uncommon except for upper respiratory infections. There may be no signs or symptoms or they may cause heart murmurs or abnormal heart rhythms or shortness of breath or swelling. Myocarditis can affect the muscles as well as the hearts electrical system or a clot could form causing heart attacks or strokes. This is a very dangerous infection. There are treatments for this infection such as beta blockers and diuretics for less severe cases or IV antibiotics or intra-aortic balloon pumps for the more severe cases. However if left untreated it can cause CHF and or

Morita (2005) stated that ‘recent insights into molecular genetic causes of myocardial diseases have highlighted the importance of single-gene defects in the pathogenesis of heart failure’. The information we can collect from investigation of gene defects, and an understanding of how genetics contributes to the development of heart failure, will ultimately help in prevention, treatment and possibly cure of cardiomyopathies in the future but we must also consider the environmental factors role.

Stem cells have made significant promise to help people understand and treat a broad range of injuries, diseases, and other health-related issues. This type of treatment has saved the lives of many people with leukemia and can also be used for tissue grafts to treat conditions with the skin, bone and surface of the eye ("Nine Things to Know about Stem Cell Treatments"). Dilated cardiomyopathy (DMC) is a disease characterized by expansion of the left ventricular chamber and it is usually associated with systolic dysfunction. The presentations of the condition include heart failure, myocardial infarction, and arrhythmia and as a refractory life-threatening condition which can cause heart failure, transplantation remains the ultimate therapy for

HCM happens when the heart muscle enlarges and thickens without an obvious cause. Usually the ventricles, the lower chambers of the heart, and septum thicken. The thickened areas create narrowing or blockages in the ventricles, making it harder for the heart to pump blood; however, in very few instances the heart actually contracts with much greater force causing an obstruction to the blood flow (CMUK, 2015). HCM also can cause stiffness of the ventricles, changes in the mitral valve, and cellular changes in the heart tissue.

Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a disorder caused by abnormalities in functional regions of the heart muscle. [Maron et al., 2006] It is one of two major types of cardiomyopathies, the other being hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). In DCM the ventricles are dilated with dysfunctional systolic pressure, affecting 1 in 2500 individuals. [Codd et al., 1989, Pahl, 2010] Familial DCM is diagnosed when two or more family members die or there is sudden death of a child due to DCM. [Mestroni et al., 1999] The end point for DCM is heart failure. [Pahl, 2010] Mutations in over 30 genes have been identified as the main causes of familial and sporadic DCM (~ 33% of cases) [Gru ̈nig et al., 1998; Jefferies et al., 2010; Macara 2001; Michels et al., 1992;

Electrocardiographic changes can include left ventricular hypertrophy with repolarisation changes with T wave inversion and deep Q waves. In family members carrying HCM gene mutations, the electrocardiogram may demonstrate only minor abnormalities. The presence of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, a risk factor for sudden death, should be tested for by means of Holter monitoring (Maron et al., 2003). At present, the diagnosis of HCM relies on echocardiography revealing symmetric or asymmetric hypertrophy. Secondary causes of hypertrophy, including valvular disease or systemic hypertension, should be excluded. 2D imaging of the left ventricle by echocardiography can confirm the diagnosis in affected patients. The ejection fraction, a measure of left ventricular systolic function, is typically preserved but there is usually evidence of diastolic dysfunction. These can be measured by tissue Doppler ultrasonography, which can show diastolic dysfunction before the development of hypertrophy (Maron, 2002). Histologically, HCM is characterized by cardiac myocyte disarray and fibrosis. Myocyte death and myocardial scarring may be present and coronary arteries may have thickened walls. This pathology can promote ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation (Maron, 2002).

Cardiomyopathy is a type of progressive heart disease in which the heart is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened. As a result, the heart muscle's ability to pump blood is weakened, often causing heart failure and the backup of blood into the lungs in rest of the body. The disease can also cause abnormal heart rhythms. Some say having a big heart is a good thing but only in certain situations.There a 3 types of Cardiomyopathy and they are: Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCM) is a condition in which the heart becomes enlarged and cannot pump blood efficiently. This disease affects the lungs, liver, and other body systems. Another is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a primary disease of the myocardium, in which a portion of the myocardium

The heart will be weaker, unable to send blood through the body, helping the electrical rhythm to stay regular. It can be inherited from family, or developed by a disease. People with cardiomyopathy may have swelling in some body parts. They may even have heart failure or arrhythmia. Because there are four major types of cardiomyopathy, it is very important that you run tests to make a diagnosis for the correct treatment to be used. The four main types are: The most common one that weakens the walls of the heart is dilated cardiomyopathy, second most common one that makes the walls of the heart thicken is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the type that happens when the artery that is leading to the heart is narrowed or blocked is the ischemic cardiomyopathy and the restrictive cardiomyopathy restricts the heart from stretching and is very

A lot of people in this world are unknown to the heart disease called peripartum cardiomyopathy. This heart disease is a uncommon heart disease. It’s a heart failure that happens in some women in the last month of their pregnancy. With this heart disease the heart cannot pump enough blood to the body’s vital organs. Which then causes organ failure if not caught. PPCM is still being studied doctors still don’t know what exactly triggers the heart failure. They say it may be from autoimmunity, immune system micronutrient. In the beginning phase of PPCM it causes inflammation in the heart. The heart muscle cells start to become damaged. After the heart muscle is damaged scar tissue begins to form. Which makes it hard

Cardiomyopathy refers to diseases of the heart muscle (NHLBI, ___) In cardiomyopathy; the heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick and rigid. The disease causes the heart to become weak and less able to pump blood through the body and maintain a normal electrical rhythm. His will lead to heart failure, or irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias. Heart failure causes fluid to build up in the lungs, ankles, feet or abdomen.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy is also known as HCM. It is a genetic condition in which the myocardium or heart muscle in the left ventricle is thickened. HCM cannot be identified by a single complaint or symptom as it is different for every person that it affects. This disease not only causes left ventricle hypertrophy but can also cause ventricle stiffness, mitral valve changes, and other cellular changes.

Protein is probably considered the most important nutrient when it comes to determining the dietary needs of cats. Due to their unique metabolism and being strict carnivores, high quality proteins are a must. Quality protein is dependent on what amino acids are involved and in what quantity. The required amino acids for felines are PVT TIM HALL with special attention to the amino acid taurine as cats cannot synthesize sufficient quantities of it for maintenance. This is partially why they require so much protein in their diets to stay healthy. Since taurine is found in animal based sources it explains why one should not feed a diet of plant based proteins as it is not of the right quality and a cat could still become deficient. Without proper

The Th17 cells, as well as Th1 and Th2 cells, play vital roles in handling immune responses in acute myocarditis to dilated myocarditis (in which the heart increases in size and is weakened to the point that it cannot pump blood properly) (35, 36). The Th1 immune response can inhibit that of Th2, thus reducing viral replication and preventing dilated myocarditis, as well as keeping the acute myocarditis from becoming chronic. Th2 cells can inhibit Th1 cells and acute myocarditis as well by reducing the amount of Treg cells and the inflammatory cytokines (37), but it would ultimately induce acute myocarditis and would result in chronic myocarditis or dilated cardiomyopathy; it only prolongs the disease (38). Moreover, an anti-CD4 monoclonal antibody can be combined with CD4 to increase immune tolerance and reduce the amount of Th1 while regulating how much Th2 there is, thus increasing the cardiac function (39). Some monoclonal antibodies can reduce the mortality rate and inflammation, inhibit viral replication, and delay myocardial injury – the combination of using two drugs as opposed to one leads to an increased effectiveness (40). In addition to this, c-Fos, a nuclear proto-oncogene, may partially induce apoptosis in pro-B cells. If c-Fos’ activity is

Introduction: Cardiac amyloidosis typically presents as a restrictive cardiomyopathy (CM) with slowly progressive heart failure (HF). Symptoms result from pulmonary edema, pleural effusions, and often right HF with peripheral edema. Echocardiographic findings include enlarged atria, diastolic dysfunction, and wall thickening due to amyloid deposition that typically results in low voltage on the ECG. Transthyretin cardiac amyloidosis (ATTR) and Light Chain (AL) cardiac amyloidosis are the most common forms; the latter results from a plasma cell dyscrasia. We present a case of rapidly progressive systolic HF from AL amyloid, treated with mechanical circulatory support (MCS) and chemotherapy. Case: A 74-year old male presented with recurrent hospitalizations for dyspnea.