Echocardiography in cardiomyopathies: an overview

Definition and types of cardiomyopathies

Cardiomyopathy implies that the myocardium is structurally and functionally altered, and the pathological changes are not explained by coronary heart disease, hypertension, valvular disease or congenital heart disease. Cardiomyopathy leads to impaired cardiac function and heart failure.

There are six main types of cardiomyopathy:

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) — This type of cardiomyopathy is characterized by pronounced hypertrophy of the myocardium. It may also lead to obstruction of the LVOT (Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, HOCM).
• Dilated cardiomyopathy (Dilated Cardiomyopathy, DCM).
• Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Cardiomyopathy / Dysplasia (ARVC/ARVD)
• Restrictive Cardiomyopathy (RCM)
• Takotsubo cardiomyopathy (broken heart syndrome, apical ballooning syndrome).
• Non-compaction cardiomyopathy