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When this happens, part of the heart muscle can stop functioning or even die. This event is called a myocardial infarction or heart attack, and can lead to permanent heart damage or be fatal.
Cardiomyopathy is a group of primary diseases of the heart muscle. [1] Early on there may be few or no symptoms. [1] As the disease worsens, shortness of breath, feeling tired, and swelling of the legs may occur, due to the onset of heart failure. [1]
The heart muscle may become inflamed in a condition called myocarditis, [46] most commonly caused by a viral infection [47] but sometimes caused by the body's own immune system. [48] Heart muscle can also be damaged by drugs such as alcohol, long standing high blood pressure or hypertension, or persistent abnormal heart racing. [49]
In heart failure, the heart muscle weakens, and the ventricles stretch (dilate) to the point that the heart can't pump blood efficiently throughout the body. Blood clots: If clots enter the bloodstream, they can block blood flow to vital organs, possibly causing a heart attack or stroke.
Coronary arteries deliver oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle. [5] Reduced blood flow to the heart associated with coronary ischemia can result in inadequate oxygen supply to the heart muscle. [6] When oxygen supply to the heart is unable to keep up with oxygen demand from the muscle, the result is the characteristic symptoms of coronary ...
[citation needed] Weakness of the peroneal muscles can result in toe walking, which can present in the first decade of life. [1] Facial, hand, and thigh muscles can be affected, although less often. [1] Calf hypertrophy can occur. [1] Involvement of the heart occurs in almost all cases, presenting as syncope in second or third decades, or as ...
In 2021, the American Heart Association clarified that "heart attack" is often mistakenly used to describe cardiac arrest. While a heart attack refers to death of heart muscle tissue as a result of blood supply loss, cardiac arrest is caused when the heart's electrical system malfunctions. Furthermore, the American Heart Association explains ...
The main pathophysiology of heart failure is a reduction in the efficiency of the heart muscle, through damage or overloading. As such, it can be caused by a wide number of conditions, including myocardial infarction (in which the heart muscle is starved of oxygen and dies), hypertension (which increases the force of contraction needed to pump blood) and cardiac amyloidosis (in which misfolded ...