Cardiomyopathy and Blood Pressure: Everything You Need to Know

Cardiomyopathy is a general term for a disease of the heart muscle affecting its size, shape or thickness. This affects the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body and can lead to heart failure.

If you or somebody close to you has just received a diagnosis, you’ll no doubt have lots of questions. So what causes cardiomyopathy? What are the risks? And what’s the link between cardiomyopathy and blood pressure? Read on to learn more.

What is cardiomyopathy?

Cardiomyopathy isn’t one condition, but rather an umbrella term for a number of diseases in which the walls of the heart chambers become enlarged, thickened or stiff. This changes the structure of the heart and affects its ability to pump blood around the body. It can also affect the heart’s electrical signals, leading to heartbeat abnormalities.

The two most common types of cardiomyopathy are:

Dilated cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle becomes enlarged, so it can’t squeeze properly to pump blood around the body.
Hypertensive cardiomyopathy, in which the heart muscle thicken. This reduces the size of the heart chambers, meaning they can’t hold as much blood and prevents the walls from relaxing properly.

You may not notice any symptoms at all, especially in the early stages, but they usually appear as the condition advances and can include:

Feeling breathless during or after activity and even at rest
Swollen legs, ankles and feet
A bloated abdomen
Coughing while lying down
Difficulty lying flat to sleep
Fatigue
A fast, pounding or fluttering heartbeat
Discomfort or pressure in the chest
Dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting

What causes cardiomyopathy?

Many times the cause of cardiomyopathy is unknown. Sometimes it can be inherited and sometimes it can be acquired as the result of another condition, including high blood pressure (hypertension).

Dilated cardiomyopathy can affect people of all ages, but occurs most often in middle age and, according to the Mayo Clinic, is more likely to affect men. Hypertensive cardiomyopathy can develop after exposure to high blood pressure for years, often accelerated by the presence of diabetes, kidney, or heart valve disease. .

Conditions and risk factors that have been linked to acquired cardiomyopathy include:

Long-term high blood pressure
Damage to heart tissue as a result of heart attack
Abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmia)
Heart valve problems
Autoimmune disorders , or autoimmune reactions that cause inflammation of the heart muscle
Metabolic disorders including thyroid disease and diabetes
Obesity, which makes the heart work harder
Build up of abnormal proteins in the organs (amyloidosis)
Build up of iron in the heart muscle (hemochromatosis)
Long-term alcohol misuse
Use of recreational drugs such as cocaine, amphetamines and anabolic steroids

Heart failure, cardiomyopathy and blood pressure

Cardiomyopathy puts a person at greater risk of heart failure, where the heart fails to pump enough blood around the body. If weaker or stiffer and less elastic, the heart is less effective in pumping blood around the body. Pressure in the chambers of the heart increase, causing the symptoms that are termed “congestive heart failure.”

So where does blood pressure fit into this? High blood pressure, when left unchecked or unmonitored over time, forces the heart to work harder to pump blood around the body, increasing the risk of cardiomyopathy as well as other heart problems. That extra strain can cause left ventricular hypertrophy, where the lower-left heart chamber thickens. This makes the muscle less able to relax in between heartbeats, which makes it difficult for the heart to fill with enough blood to supply the body’s organs, especially during exercise. It’s at that point you’d experience fatigue, breathlessness and other symptoms of heart failure.

According to WebMD, about two-thirds of people with heart failure also have – or used to have – high blood pressure.

How is cardiomyopathy treated?

While cardiomyopathy can’t be cured, there are lots of effective treatments to help control symptoms. Reassuringly, the British Heart Foundation states that ‘in most cases living with it will not affect your quality or length of life.’

Treatment will depend on the type of cardiomyopathy and the individual, but should always include regular medical care with a physician, and may include medication and hospital procedures such as cardioversion or ablation, or having a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter defibrillator placed. In rare cases, heart surgery may be required.

Your doctor may also recommend a series of lifestyle changes, such as:

Reducing your alcohol intake
Controlling your blood pressure by reducing salt and choosing healthier foods
Lowering your cholesterol by swapping saturated for unsaturated fats
Getting regular exercise
Working on reducing stress

Monitoring blood pressure can be a useful tool in managing cardiomyopathy

The other way you can help yourself is by educating yourself about your own health. You’ll no doubt receive regular checkups, but your doctor will probably want to you keep a close eye on your blood pressure too. Monitoring it at home, and keeping a record to share with healthcare providers, can help you understand and manage your symptoms and get the most appropriate treatment. Frequent measurements will provide warning signs. Monitoring blood pressure can be a useful tool in managing cardiomyopathy.

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Sources:

Cardiomyopathy affects the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body, NHS UK, Nov 2019 – https://www.nhs.uk/conditions-cardiomyopathy/

Cardiomyopathy (kahr-dee-o-my-OP-uh-thee) is a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body, Mayo Clinic, Apr 2022 – https://www.mayoclinic.org-diseases-conditions-cardiomyopathy/symptoms-causes/syc-20370709

High blood pressure is a risk factor for more than heart disease, Mayo Clinic, Jan 2022 – https://www.mayoclinic.org-diseases-conditions-high-blood-pressure/in-depth/high-blood-pressure/art-20045868

High Blood Pressure and Heart Failure, WebMD Editorial Contributors, Nov 2022 – https://www.webmd.com/heart-disease-heart-failure-blood-pressure-heart-failure

When Blood Pressure Is Too Low, AHA, Oct 2016 – https://www.heart.org/en-health-topics-high-blood-pressure/the-facts-about-high-blood-pressure/low-blood-pressure-when-blood-pressure-is-too-low