Dear ronnie, Thank you for your question. It seems that we have been getting a lot of questions from young people with cardiomyopathy lately and you can read through those and also get information from them. It is usually diagnosed by history and an echocardiogram. Occasionally a heart muscle biopsy is performed. Symptoms are shortness of breath, swelling in the legs, chest discomfort and palpitations and increased fatigue.
Treatment is usually medical and in severe cases heart transplant.
About a third of patients get worse with some going on to transplant. Another third stay the same and are managed well with medical therapy and the rest get better. Hope this helps. Feel free to write back with any additional questions. Information provided here is for general educational purposes only.