What we need to know about cardiomyopathy and how lifestyle and functional medicine can help

I have been getting a lot of questions based around cardiomyopathy, such as “are there natural ways to treat, and can it be prevented.”

I figured I would take some time to share how functional and lifestyle medicine can be used to support issues of cardiomyopathy.

Much of the reason we are hearing more about cardiomyopathy is that it has been linked to both the Covid infection as well as the vaccine. The information which I will be sharing is speaking to cardiomyopathy in general, whatever the source.

First off, what is it?

According to the American Heart Association,

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle that makes it harder for the heart to pump blood to the rest of the body. The various types of the disease have many causes, signs and symptoms as well as treatments. In most cases, cardiomyopathy causes the heart muscle to become enlarged, thick, or rigid.

Symptoms of cardiomyopathy include shortness of breath, swelling of the legs, ankles and feet, bloating of the abdomen due to fluid buildup, cough while lying down, difficulty lying flat to sleep, fatigue, heartbeats that feel rapid, pounding or fluttering, chest discomfort or pressure, dizziness, lightheadedness and fainting.

Reasons and risk factors for cardiomyopathy are many, long-term high blood pressure, rapid heartbeat, heart tissue damage from a heart attack, heart valve problems, certain infections and inflammation, heart valve problems, metabolic disorders, obesity, diabetes, thyroid disease, nutritional depletions, iron build up, use of amphetamines, anabolic steroids, some chemotherapy, or radiation treatment for cancer, and more.

Conventionally treatment options are evolving and drug therapy is finding unique combinations and modalities which are providing great benefits for some. What we find is that complimentary therapy supports patients welfare even more.

Addressing a healthy diet, balance off drug induced nutrient depletions, providing supplements to balance inflammatory response, antioxidants, as well as pinpointing other underlying and related issues such as balancing hormones including thyroid and adrenals and digestive health.

As they say, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure and there are a number “not so common” cardiovascular tests to ensure that we are starting from a strong foundation, and hopefully ward off any challenges in the future.

Tune in as the next blog I’ll talk about integrative and functional tests to help ensure there are no cardiovascular surprises.