There are also multiple types of familial cardiomyopathies—hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common and affects somewhere around 1 in 500 adults in the United States.5 Cardiomyopathy symptoms can include shortness of breath, fatigue, and an irregular heartbeat, among others. They often appear in mid-adulthood, but they can happen earlier too.
Experts have pinpointed some of the genes connected with familial cardiomyopathy, but others are still being researched. To prevent people from going undiagnosed and progressing to heart failure, the American College of Cardiology recommends any first-degree relative of a person with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy be screened starting at age 12.
“We’re making more diagnoses of genetic cardiomyopathy because of the easy ability to obtain genetic screening for family members with it,” Marc Goldschmidt, MD, director of the Heart Failure and Cardiomyopathy Center at the Stony Brook Heart Institute, tells SELF. This means doctors can catch—and treat—heart failure, or damage to the heart that could lead to heart failure, earlier.
3. Peripartum cardiomyopathyÂ
Peripartum cardiomyopathy is a rare form of cardiomyopathy that occurs sometime within the last month of pregnancy and the first five months after giving birth, according to the AHA. When someone develops the condition, the heart becomes weak and enlarged. It doesn’t pump blood as well as it should and can lead to heart failure.
Peripartum cardiomyopathy can be tricky to diagnose because many of its symptoms, like fatigue and swollen ankles, mimic typical pregnancy symptoms.6 The underlying cause is also unclear, the AHA notes. Many people recover completely from it, while others experience lasting complications.
“While somewhere between 50% and 80% of people’s hearts completely recover, many continue to have impaired heart function and are at risk for worsening heart failure,” Dr. Marshall says. Some people who experience peripartum cardiomyopathy are also at an increased risk of experiencing the condition again in other pregnancies. Dr. Doctorian notes that the safety of a subsequent pregnancy depends primarily upon whether the heart function has fully recovered or not beforehand.
4. Substance use
“Among young people coming to the hospital with heart failure, I commonly see substance use as the cause—especially heavy alcohol or methamphetamine use,” Dr. Doctorian says.7 Other illicit drugs like cocaine can also impact the heart muscle and lead to heart failure with continued use.8 The way substance use contributes to heart failure is a bit different depending on the type of substance.Â
Heavy alcohol consumption, such as frequent binge drinking or drinking about six or more drinks each day for five years or more, can lead to alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy, where the heart becomes enlarged. This can weaken the heart muscle, impact its ability to pump blood, and potentially contribute to heart failure and other serious problems. Some people may recover from alcohol-induced cardiomyopathy by fully abstaining, but others may need to take medication or even have surgery to repair heart valves or insert a pacemaker or another type of implantable device, according to the Cleveland Clinic.Â
