The heart is one of the vital organs of the body. The heart pumps blood to every organ of the body via a nerve network.
If the functioning of the heart is imbalanced, it will affect the whole body system. Heart diseases may lead to many life-threatening conditions, such as kidney failure, liver damage, valve problems, etc.
Key Takeaways
- Cardiomyopathy is a heart muscle disease leading to heart failure, in which the heart cannot pump blood effectively.
- Heart failure has various causes, including cardiomyopathy, coronary artery disease, and hypertension.
- Treatment for cardiomyopathy focuses on managing the underlying condition, while heart failure treatment aims to improve heart function and alleviate symptoms.
Cardiomyopathy vs Heart Failure
The difference between Cardiomyopathy and heart failure is that the former is caused due to weakening of heart muscles, and the latter is caused due to inefficiency in pumping the blood. Both diseases result in many other serious complications, such as heart attack, cardiac arrest, blood clots, liver damage, kidney failure, and many more.
Cardiomyopathy is a medical condition in which the heart muscles are weakened and causes difficulty in pumping blood throughout the body.
In this condition, the heart muscles do not function properly, and blood does not reach the body parts. This condition is categorized into three stages: dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive Cardiomyopathy.
Heart failure may be defined as a condition in which the heart does not efficiently pump blood.
This condition may lead to several disorders, that may lead to body fluid retention in large amounts. Heart failure is categorized as a chronic condition that may lead to death.
Comparison Table
| Parameters of Comparison | Cardiomyopathy | Heart Failure |
|---|---|---|
| Definition | Cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart muscles can not work efficiently. | The common symptoms of Cardiomyopathy are breathlessness, bloated stomach, dizziness, and chest pain. |
| Causes | Cardiomyopathy is either hereditary or acquired type of heart disease. | Heart failure is an acquired and chronic type of heart disease. |
| Symptoms | The common symptoms of Heart failure are breath shortness, fatigue, fast heartbeat, and excess urination. | There are three types of Cardiomyopathy; Dilated, Hypertrophic, Restrictive. |
| Types | There are three types of Heart failure; Left-sided heart failure, Right-sided heart failure, and Systolic heart failure. | The common complications are heart failure, blood clots, cardiac arrest, and valve-related problems. |
| Complications | The complications are kidney failure, problems related to a heart valve, liver malfunctioning, and heart rhythm rate. | The complications are kidney failure, problems related to a heart valve, liver malfunctioning, and heart rhythm rate |
What is Cardiomyopathy?
Cardiomyopathy is one of the severe conditions of heart disease. In this condition, a patient may suffer from improper functioning of cardiac muscles,, leading to blood circulation problems.
The symptoms of Cardiomyopathy are pain in the chest, dizziness, loss of appetite, abnormal heart rate, bloating, or deposition of fluid in the abdomen.
The cause of this condition can either be hereditary or acquired. Genetic Cardiomyopathy is passed to the patient from one of its parents.
An acquired condition is caused due to high blood pressure sustained for a long time, cardiac tissue damage due to a heart attack, and fluctuating heart rate.
Cardiomyopathy is divided into three types, namely dilated, hypertrophic, and restrictive.
In Dilated Cardiomyopathy, the heart’s left ventricle is dilated and loses its ability to pump blood efficiently. The middle-aged are most likely to get affected by this condition.
The common cause of dilated Cardiomyopathy is heart attack and coronary artery disease.
In Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy, an irregular thickening is found on the cardiac muscles,, making it problematic to pump blood.
Mainly the left chamber is affected and can also be hereditary. In restrictive Cardiomyopathy, the cardiac muscles get stiff and less stretchable; hence are unable to fill the blood in the heart.
What is Heart Failure?
Heart Failure, commonly known as congestive heart failure,, mainly arises from improper blood pumping. In this condition, the body fluids are stored in the lungs and hence cause a problem in breathing.
In some acute cardiac diseases, such as persistently high blood pressure and coronary artery disease, the cardiac muscles become stiffer and weaker.
Due to this,, cardiac muscles cannot fill systolic and diastolic blood in the heart. Heart failure may be categorized as chronic or acute.
The common symptoms of heart failure are shortness of breath, weakness, and swelling. Heart failure can be categorized into three types; Left-sided heart failure, Right-sided heart failure, and Systolic heart failure.
In Left-sided heart failure, body fluid accumulates in the lungs, which causes breath shortness. In Right-sided heart failure, body fluid deposits in the abdominal cavity and feet, causing swelling.
In Systolic heart failure, the heart’s left ventricle can not contract actively and efficiently, which indicates a pumping problem.
Heart failure may lead to fatal diseases,, such as liver damage, kidney failure, and heartbeat fluctuation.
Patients can improve their conditions by maintaining a better lifestyle. Patients should eat healthy food, a balanced diet, and no smoking motive.
Main Difference Between Cardiomyopathy and Heart Failure
- Cardiomyopathy can be marked as the weakening of cardiac muscles,, which makes it difficult to pump. Cardiomyopathy finally leads to heart failure. Whereas heart failure can be defined as when the heart cannot properly pump the blood, and fluid is collected in the lungs.
- The common causes of Cardiomyopathy are damage to heart tissue due to heart attack, valve-related problems, deficiency of vital vitamins and minerals, and granulomas. On the other hand, the common causes of heart failure are coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, improper heart valve functioning, and myocarditis.
- Patients should avoid drinking alcohol and cocaine, balance the stress, and take an adequate amount of sleep to reduce the risk of Cardiomyopathy. In contrast, patients should not consume tobacco or alcohol and avoid obesity to reduce the risk of heart failure.
- The complications caused due to Cardiomyopathy are heart failure, blood clots, cardiac arrest, and valve-related problems. Also, the complications caused by heart failure are kidney failure, problems related to a heart valve, liver malfunctioning, and heart rhythm rate.
- Cardiomyopathy can either be hereditary or acquired. Whereas heart failure is an acquired and chronic type of heart disease.
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673609620237
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0140673612603973
- https://www.ahajournals.org/doi/abs/10.1161/circ.102.suppl_4.iv-14
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0002914985907891
Last Updated : 01 July, 2023
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Piyush Yadav has spent the past 25 years working as a physicist in the local community. He is a physicist passionate about making science more accessible to our readers. He holds a BSc in Natural Sciences and Post Graduate Diploma in Environmental Science. You can read more about him on his bio page.
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