Cardiomyopathy

[stiggs]

Hello all,
Just found this forum and I hope anyone can help.  I just saw my cardiologist today and after many tests he determined that I have Cardiomyopathy.  My cardiologist suggested their maybe a correlation with Cardiomyopathy and my AS, last year I was diagnosed with AS (Ankylosing Spondylitis).  From what he told me that this is a progressive disease and he will monitor my condition and treat with medications for now. I will see him in 2 months, but wondered if this enough? I have almost all the symptoms of Dialated Cardiomyopathy, except swelling. Should I be really concerned? What is the likely prognosis of someone with this condition.  I am 46 male non smoker, social drinker only, but have family history of heart disease and diabetes (Father died at 43, grandfather at 55).

[stiggs]

I forgot to mention my Ejection fraction rate was 40%. Because of this and other symptoms I had the heart cath which according to my cardiologist my coronary arteries were in pristine condition. The echo displayed an enlarged left ventricle but nothing irregular of my aortic valve. I do have an early beat as well. He is treating my high blood pressure with 10mg of Lisinopril and XL 25mg of Torprol.  I am on 40mg Humira every 2 weeks for AS and 50,000IU Vit D.

[CCF HeartMD-2]

The major cardiac condition that is related to ankylosing spondylitis is typically aortic regurgitation, or a leaky aortic valve.  Did your echo show an abnormal aortic valve?  Another possibility is the fact that patients with inflammatory conditions such as spondylitis may have accelerated atherosclerosis, so I would definitely make sure the coronary arteries do not have any significant stenoses.   The prognosis of the dilated cardiomyopathy depends on the ejection fraction, the ventricle size, and your symptoms.  Medications which have been shown to improve outcome, symptoms, and survival include beta blockers, ace inhibitors, aldosterone antagonists, and if the ejection fraction is very low, then defibrillators.  Also, if there is evidence of heart conduction delay in the lower chamber of the heart, cardiac resynchronization can be attempted.

If you are having shortness of breath waking you up at night, are gaining weight more than 2 pounds per day, or feel like you cannot walk without getting winded, I would say you may consider a closer interval of follow up.