Page 9 Home Cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy refers to a number of diseases that weaken the heart muscle.
Doctors classify cardiomyopathies by the way they affect the anatomy and function of the heart.
In dilated cardiomyopathy, the chambers of the heart are large and the heart won't pump blood effectively. In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle thickens, reducing the size of the left heart ventricle. The ventricles can't expand well and fill with enough blood. In restrictive cardiomyopathy, the inside of the ventricle walls become stiff and unable to expand. Again, enough blood cannot fill the ventricles.