Cardiomyopathy, which literally means “heart muscle disease,” is the deterioration of the function of the myocardium (i.e., the actual heart muscle) for any reason. People with cardiomyopathy are often at risk of arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death or both.[1] Cardiomyopathies can generally be categorized into two groups, based on World Health Organization guidelines: extrinsic cardiomyopathies and intrinsic cardiomyopathies.[2] Extrinsic cardiomyopathies These are cardiomyopathies where the primary pathology is outside the myocardium itself. Most cardiomyopathies are extrinsic, because by far the most common cause of a cardiomyopathy is ischemia. The World Health Organization calls these specific cardiomyopathies:[2] Coronary artery disease Congenital heart disease Nutritional diseases Ischemic (or ischaemic) cardiomyopathy Hypertensive cardiomyopathy Valvular cardiomyopathy Inflammatory cardiomyopathy Cardiomyopathy secondary to a systemic metabolic disease Alcoholic cardiomyopathy Diabetic cardiomyopathy Ischemic cardiomyopathy Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a weakness in the muscle of the heart due to inadequate oxygen delivery to the myocardium read more [...]