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Pediatric Cardiomyopathy

What is cardiomyopathy?

Cardiomyopathy is any disease of the heart muscle in which the heart loses its ability to pump blood effectively. In some instances, heart rhythm is disturbed, leading to irregular heartbeats, or arrhythmias. There may be multiple causes of cardiomyopathy, including viral infections. Sometimes, the exact cause of the muscle disease is never found.

How does cardiomyopathy differ from other heart disorders?

Cardiomyopathy differs from many of the other disorders of the heart in several ways, including the following:

Cardiomyopathy can, and often does, occur in children.
The condition is fairly uncommon, affecting only about 50,000 Americans (adults and children).
Cardiomyopathy is a leading cause for heart transplantation.
The condition tends to be progressive and sometimes worsens fairly quickly.
It may be associated with diseases involving other organs, as well as the heart.

Why is cardiomyopathy a concern?

Cardiomyopathy prevents the heart muscle from pumping enough blood to meet the body's needs.

What causes cardiomyopathy?

Viral infections that infect the heart are a major cause of cardiomyopathy. In some instances, cardiomyopathy is a result of another disease or its treatment, such as complex congenital (present at birth) heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, uncontrollable, fast heart rhythms, or certain types of chemotherapy for childhood cancers. Sometimes, cardiomyopathy can be linked to a genetic abnormality. Other times, the cause is unknown.

What is the treatment for cardiomyopathy?

Specific treatment for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy will be determined by your child's physician based on:

your child's age, overall health, and medical history
extent of the disease
your child's tolerance for specific medications, procedures, or therapies
expectations for the course of the disease
your opinion or preference

Your child's physician may recommend medications to accomplish the following:

decrease the workload of the heart
decrease the oxygen requirements of the heart
regulate irregular heartbeats

Surgical treatment may include:

removal of part of the enlarged muscle
artificial pacemaker
heart transplantation

Children's Team Our Stories Departments

Children's Team

Providers

Jeffrey Moak

Director, Electrophysiology Program
Electrophysiologist

Niti Dham

Director, Cardio-Oncology Program
Advanced Imaging Cardiologist
Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Cardiologist

Sairah Khan

Cardiologist

Christopher Spurney

Associate Director, Cardiology Fellowship Training Program
Cardiologist

Shriprasad Deshpande

Director, Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program

Our Stories

Teresa's Story

Teresa, age 2, was diagnosed with cardiomyopathy and waited on the Berlin Heart EXCOR® Pediatric Ventricular Assist Device (VAD) for nine months while she waited for a heart transplant. Her heart arrived on Christmas Day.

Ryan M's Story

Father and son Ryan and Alex Morales know what it’s like to spend days—even weeks in the hospital. The two have been patients at Children’s National Hospital for more than 10 years. Their stories are connected by Children’s National physicians who have been treating them since 2005 and continue to see them improve and grow in more ways than one.

Nadia’s Story

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is a rare heart condition in which the heart muscles are too stiff and can’t relax to fill and pump the correct amount of blood to other parts of the body. For Nadia, this not only meant that her intestine function was compromised, causing nausea and vomiting, but her lungs also had to work in overdrive.

Departments

Advanced Cardiac Therapies and Heart Transplant Program

We provide personalized care for babies and children with heart failure, including advanced VAD techniques and heart transplantation.

Electrophysiology

Our electrophysiologists, national leaders in pediatric arrhythmias, provide advanced treatment for babies and children with complex heart rhythm disorders.

Cardiac Imaging

We have expertise in the full spectrum of cardiac imaging, including transesophageal, prenatal, 3-D, intracardiac, and stress echocardiography and cardiac MRI.

Cardiology

The pediatric heart experts at Children’s National Hospital in Washington, D.C., provide advanced care for unborn babies, children and young adults with heart conditions.

Children's National Heart Institute

Our expert pediatric heart team, including more than 40 subspecialties, offer advanced heart care and excellent outcomes for thousands of children every year.

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Aidan's Story

During his one-month-old checkup at a local doctor’s office in California, Maryland, Aidan’s pediatrician detected a rapid heartbeat. He immediately sent them to Children’s National where doctors confirmed that Aidan’s tiny heart was beating twice as fast as it should be.