Cardiomyopathies

The most common cardiomyopathies often present to primary care physicians with similar symptoms, despite the fact that they involve a variety of phenotypes and etiologies (1). Many have signs and symptoms common in heart failure, such as reduced ejection fraction, peripheral edema, fatigue, orthopnea, exertion dyspnea, paroxysmal nocturnal dyspnea, presyncope, syncope and cardiac ischemia (1). In all cardiomyopathies, the cardiac muscle (myocardium) may be structurally and/or functionally impaired. They can be classified as hypertrophic, dilated, left-ventricular non compaction, restrictive and arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathies.