symptons of cardiomyopathy

About a year ago the doctor told me I was suffering from cardiomyopathy.  I have been taking medications and doing the things the doctor advised.  A few months ago I started having pains in the middle of my chest almost every day.  I also have numbness on the left side of my body as least once a week.  Could these symptons the cardiomyopathy is getting worse?  If not, what could be causing these problems?  I also take medications for high blood pressure.

Thanks for your response.

[Cleveland Clinic, MD]

Dear Sue,
Cardiomyopathy can cause a variety of different symptoms so it is possible the pain is due to the cardiomyopathy or the underlying cause of the cardiomyopathy.  There are also many other possible "non-cardiac" causes of chest pain that should not be overlooked.

Gastrointestinal causes of chest pain include reflux (acid from the stomach washing back into the esophagus), gallstones, esophageal spasm, esophageal rupture, varicose veins of the esophagus, strictures of the esophagus, tumors of the esophagus and other less common GI problems.

Pulmonary (lung) causes include pneumonia, pulmonary embolus, pneumothorax, pleuritis and bleb rupture.

Other potential causes are aortic dissection, back and spine problems and musculoskeletal (muscle strain, rib fracture, etc.).

Psychological causes of chest pain are common and include panic attacks, anxiety, stress and mental duress.

As you can see the list of potential causes in long and may take a little bit of time to determine the precise cause.  Your cardiologist or a good Internal Medicine doctor should be able to work through the potential causes of your symptoms.