Symptoms and signs of cardiomyopathy

Condition analysis:
Some people with cardiomyopathy never have signs or symptoms, so it's important to identify those who may be at high risk. Others don't have signs or symptoms in the early stages of the disease. Signs and symptoms of heart failure usually occur later as the heart weakens.

These signs and symptoms include:
-- Shortness of breath or trouble breathing, especially with physical exertion
-- Fatigue
-- Swelling in the ankles, feet, legs, abdomen and veins in the neck

Additional signs and symptoms may include dizziness; light-headedness; fainting during physical activity; arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats); chest pain, especially after physical exertion or heavy meals; and heart murmurs. Heart murmurs are extra or unusual sounds heard during a heartbeat.

Instructions:
Proposed Natural Treatments for Cardiomyopathy: Cardiomyopathy is certainly not a disease that you should treat yourself! For this reason, we deliberately do not discuss dosage or safety issues in this section, although general guidelines can be found in the articles on these substances.
Coenzyme Q 10

Preliminary evidence suggests that the naturally occurring substance coenzyme Q 10 (CoQ 10 ) might offer benefit in some forms of cardiomyopathy.

In a 6-year trial, 143 people with moderately severe cardiomyopathy were given CoQ 10 daily in addition to standard medical care. The results showed a significant improvement in cardiac function (technically, ejection fraction) in 84% of the study participants. Most of them improved by several stages on a scale that measures the severity of heart failure (technically, NYHA class). Furthermore, a comparison with individuals on conventional therapy alone appeared to show a reduction in mortality.