Our
discussion today will center on heart disease and Cardiomyopathy or heart
muscle disease. Heart disease can cause life-threatening conditions like the
occurrence of a cardiac arrest or heart attack. It is only by signing up for CPR Overland Park Kansas classes that
can enable an individual to deal with the emergencies efficiently. In the
classes, students will get to learn about the life-saving resuscitation
procedures comprising of chest compressions and rescue breaths, proper
application of which can revive the life of a victim in the middle of a cardiac
emergency. For CPR classes in Overland Park, you can enroll for a program at
the AHA accredited CPR Kansas City. At the end of the training classes, a
student will be eligible for a certification after successfully passing a
skills test and a written exam.
Cardiomyopathy,
or heart muscle disease, is a type of progressive heart disease in which the
heart is abnormally enlarged, thickened, and/or stiffened which leads to loss
in the heart muscle’s ability to pump blood, often causing heart failure and
the backup of blood into the lungs or rest of the body.
Types of Cardiomyopathy:
Dilated Cardiomyopathy- It is when the heart's ability to
pump blood is lessened because its main pumping chamber, the left ventricle, is
enlarged and weakened. Over a period of time, it can affect the other chambers
as well.
Symptoms:
People with
DCM might not have any symptoms. Symptoms of DCM can happen at any age which
includes:
1. Swelling of legs
2. Shortness of breath
3. Fainting
4. Dizziness
5. Weight Gain
6. Chest pain or pressure
7. Sudden Death
8. Blood clots in the dilated left
ventricle because of pooling of the blood. If a blood clot breaks off, it can
lodge in an artery and disrupt blood flow to the brain, causing a stroke. A
clot can also block blood flow to the organs in the abdomen or legs.
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy- HCM is associated with thickening
of the heart muscle, most commonly at the septum between the ventricles, below
the aortic valve that leads to stiffening of the walls of the heart and abnormal
aortic and mitral heart valve function, that may impede normal blood flow out
of the heart.
Symptoms:
People with
HCM may not have any symptoms or only minor symptoms, and live a normal life.
Some of the symptoms include:
1. Chest pain or pressure
2. Shortness of breath, especially with
exertion
3. Fatigue
4. Fainting
5. Palpitations
6. Sudden Death (occurs in a small
number of patients with HCM)
Causes:
The cause is
often unknown. HCM can run in families but the condition may also be acquired
as a part of aging or high blood pressure.
Restrictive Cardiomyopathy- Restrictive cardiomyopathy is when
the walls of the lower chambers of the heart (called the ventricles) are too
rigid to expand as they fill with blood. It becomes hard for the ventricles to
get enough blood although the pumping ability of the ventricles may be normal.
With time, the heart is not able to pump properly thus leading to heart
failure.
Symptoms:
1. Nausea, bloating and poor appetite
2. Swelling in the legs and feet
3. Fatigue
4. Inability to exercise
5. Palpitations (fluttering in the chest
due to abnormal heart rhythms)
6. Chest pain or pressure
7. Fainting
Causes:
1. Buildup of scar tissue
2. Too much iron in the heart (also
called hemochromatosis)
3. Chemotherapy or chest exposure to
radiation
4. Buildup of proteins in the heart
muscle.
To sign up
for CPR Overland Park Kansas classes
at CPR Kansas City, either register online or call on 913-998-7499.
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