Effective Cardiomyopathy Treatment in Central California

Cardiomyopathy describes when parts of the heart muscle thicken or become enlarged. This cardiovascular condition can be temporary, causing no symptoms and needing no treatment. In other cases, cardiomyopathy is chronic and can have severe effects.

At Dignity Health Central California, our cardiomyopathy treatment aims to manage symptoms, lower the risk of complications, and prevent the condition from worsening.

If you are concerned about your heart health, use our Find a Doctor tool to choose from well-qualified cardiologists in your area. Our cardiovascular experts can talk to you about effective cardiomyopathy treatment in Central California.

Treating Cardiomyopathy at Dignity Health Central California

Treatment choices depend on the type, severity, and cause of your cardiomyopathy. Lifestyle changes to improve your heart health, such as regular exercise, weight management, quitting smoking, and limiting alcohol consumption, are often recommended as a first-line treatment.

Your doctor may also prescribe medications to relieve your symptoms and ease the load on your heart. Commonly prescribed medications for cardiomyopathy include:

• Electrolytes — to provide additional nutrients to your heart
• Diuretics — to help remove extra fluid from your body, helping your heart work easier
• Corticosteroids — to help with inflammation of your blood vessels
• Antihypertensives — to lower your blood pressure
• Antiarrhythmics — to prevent or correct irregular heart rhythms
• Anticoagulants — to help prevent blood clots

If you experience severe symptoms of cardiomyopathy, or if previous treatments have not corrected the problem, your Dignity Health Central California cardiologist will likely recommend one of these procedures: 

• Septal ablation — a procedure to correct an abnormally thick septum (wall separating the left and right sides of the heart) with ethanol (a type of alcohol).
• Device implantation — surgical insertion of a device (cardioverter defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization therapy device) to detect and correct irregular heartbeats.
• Left ventricular assist device (LVAD) — used as a treatment itself, or as a temporary measure for people awaiting a heart transplant, the insertion of this medical device helps a weakened heart pump blood.
• Septal myectomy — open heart surgery to improve blood flow through the heart by removing part of a thickened septum.
• Heart transplant — surgery to replace a severely diseased heart with a healthy one. This procedure is reserved for cardiomyopathy patients at risk of dying.

Cardiomyopathy Prevention

You can reduce your risk of cardiomyopathy by following these tips:

• Adopt a heart-healthy diet.
• Quit smoking.
• Manage stress effectively.
• Moderate alcohol use.
• Get help right away for cardiomyopathy symptoms.
• Follow doctor’s recommendations in managing illnesses known to affect the heart, such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Know your risks for developing cardiomyopathy or other heart disease — take our free heart risk assessment and discuss your results with your doctor.

Dignity Health Central California offers advanced cardiovascular care, including cardiomyopathy treatment, in Bakersfield, Merced, San Andreas, and Stockton, CA.