Cardiomyopathy means “disease of the heart muscle.” It can be acquired or inherited.
Many people live with cardiomyopathy, unaware that they have the condition.
The UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute's Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center offers a multidisciplinary approach to diagnosing and treating cardiomyopathy with the convenience of all services at one location.
To request an appointment, contact the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute:
Cardiomyopathy is a disease that affects the heart muscle.
In cardiomyopathy, the damaged heart muscle becomes enlarged, thick, or rigid, and cannot pump blood effectively.
It's the leading cause of heart failure and the most common reason for needing a heart transplant.
Unlike other heart problems, cardiomyopathy frequently affects younger people.
Cardiomyopathy risk factors include:
Dilated cardiomyopathy
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
Restrictive cardiomyopathy
At UPMC's Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Center, people with HCM have access to:
To make an appointment or refer a patient, contact the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at UPMC's Heart and Vascular Institute.
Cardiomyopathy symptoms are associated with heart failure or arrhythmia, and may include:
If you have such symptoms and are at risk for cardiomyopathy, see your doctor for a physical exam.
To confirm a diagnosis of cardiomyopathy, your doctor at the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute's Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center may order additional tests and procedures to check your heart's function.
These tests may include:
Testing results
Your doctor or nurse will tell you when to expect your test results and will call you when they're available.
To make an appointment or refer a patient, contact the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at UPMC's Heart and Vascular Institute.
At the UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute's Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) Center, our overall treatment goals are to:
Treatment depends on the type of cardiomyopathy you have and the seriousness of your condition.
There is no definitive cure for HCM, but most people are able to live long, healthy lives under the care of their doctors.
If the obstruction of outflow of blood from the left ventricle to the body is extremely severe, the thickened heart muscle can be “trimmed” using one of two surgical techniques:
To make an appointment or refer a patient, contact the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at UPMC's Heart and Vascular Institute.
The UPMC Heart and Vascular Institute offers educational materials about cardiomyopathy and other heart and vascular conditions and treatments.
Many people find these resources helpful in answering their questions about their condition and preparing for a procedure or diagnostic test.
The links below will open in a new browser window.
To make an appointment or refer a patient, contact the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at UPMC's Heart and Vascular Institute.
