There is no need to mention that the heart is one of the most important parts of our body. When this heart is weak it leads to heart failure. Weak heart means weak heart muscles and that is referred to by the medical term – Cardiomyopathy. In this condition the heart is unable to circulate blood throughout the body. There are some reasons behind these weakened heart muscles and they are as follows:

• Causes of weak heart muscles:

There are many possible conditions which may lead to weak heart muscles. The main reason is that when blood flow is too slow then it causes more pressure on the heart. This slow blood circulation provides insufficient amount of oxygen and nutrients in the body cells, (which are required for them to function normally.) And when this pressure increases it starts thickening the chambers of the heart, or in order to hold more blood the heart starts expanding. In such conditions the muscles of the heart are weakened.

There are mainly two types of Cardiomyopathy: first is dilated Cardiomyopathy and the other is hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. We are going to talk about both of them one by one.

• Dilated Cardiomyopathy:

Dilated Cardiomyopathy takes place when one of the ventricles (mostly the left one) gets dilated and results in weakening the muscles. This condition causes the pumping action to weaken; that means the blood pumped in each heart beat is low in quantity and this leads to inadequate supply of blood to the body’s organs.

• Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy:

This type of weakness in the heart muscles is generally caused by genetics that run through families. In hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy the ventricular muscles tend to become thick and ultimately result in stiffness. Thus it weakens the function of the heart and leads to serious heart conditions.

• Symptoms of weak heart muscles:

It is easy to recognize the symptoms of weak heart muscles. The body cells which do not receive an adequate amount of blood gradually stop functioning due to lack of oxygen and nutrients. As this happens, the fluid that is in the blood vessels starts seeping into the surrounding tissues. This causes swelling in the legs as well as in the ankles and also it causes water to be retained in the body.  Excessive fluids can accumulate in the digestive track or lungs which will show up as troubled breathing and decreased appetite. As the heart becomes unable to circulate sufficient amounts of blood in the body; you may face fatigue, tiredness and weakness and this will make your daily tasks harder.

In some severe cases symptoms of ‘weak heart muscles’ can result in an enlarged heart, cough with blood, shortness of breath and also irregular heartbeats.

In some people there no symptoms and they might not even know that they are suffering from Cardiomyopathy until it is too late.