Signs and Symptoms of Cardiomyopathy (Concept Map Walkthrough)

7 Jun 2024 · 1 min

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In this instructional video segment, the presenter explains the two primary forms of cardiomyopathy—dilated (characterized by thinning and dilation of the heart walls) and hypertrophic (characterized by thickened walls). Both conditions lead to reduced cardiac output, which underlies the common clinical manifestations such as dyspnea, syncope, fatigue, and dizziness. The speaker emphasizes the importance of linking these signs and symptoms back to the underlying pathophysiology, highlighting how inadequate organ perfusion results from the heart’s diminished pumping efficiency.

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Let's walk through some of the signs and symptoms that you might see in cardiomyopathy. So, as always in med surg, in nursing school, we want to focus on the pathophysiology and connect our signs and symptoms back to the patho. So with cardiomyopathy, there's going to be two main types, dilated and hypertropic. Dilated, meaning that the heart walls are dilating or thinning out. And then hypertropic means that they are getting thicker. Now, both of these things causes a decreased cardiac output, and that is what's really going to drive these signs and symptoms. Right. So anytime have a decreased cardiac output, the patient could be having some dyspnea or syncope, fatigue and dizziness. Of course, because their heart is not pumping as optimally as it should be, there's a decrease in cardiac output. So they're not getting enough blood flow to their organs, and so their organs aren't being perfused as well as they should be. So all of these signs and symptoms make sense when you put it into the context of the pathophysiology of what is happening with cardiomyopathy.