Can Ischemic Cardiomyopathy Be Reversed?

Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a kind of disease which mainly occurs when the muscles of the heart get weakened due to a heart attack. In this condition, the heart loses its ability to pump out enough blood to the whole body of the patient. When this condition continues for a long period, the patient develops several other issues.

Generally, it is seen that ischemic cardiomyopathy can happen to people of any age. However, people who have a family history of ischemic cardiomyopathy or any coronary heart disease are likely to develop ischemic cardiomyopathy. Persons who have once suffered from sudden cardiac arrest or heart failure are at high risk of suffering from ischemic cardiomyopathy. Apart from that, persons who are obese and have diabetes or high blood pressure or high cholesterol also have high chances of developing ischemic cardiomyopathy. Considering it as a serious condition, it is essential to know if ischemic cardiomyopathy can be reversed or not.

It is true that you cannot completely reverse ischemic cardiomyopathy but you can certainly lower the risk associated with this disease. Lowering the risk of ischemic cardiomyopathy largely depends on what you eat, how regularly you do exercise, how much you maintain your weight, and how much mental stress you have in your life.

For reversing or reducing the risk of ischemic cardiomyopathy, it is very important that you first reduce and maintain chronic disease such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, etc. That is the reason why doctors recommend taking the following measures.

Regular Exercise. It is highly recommended to walk at least for half an hour per day. You should also do yoga, meditation and reduce your stress level. It is true that regular exercise is very important to mainly the health condition. However, performing some exercise can be too risky and tiring for the person having damaged heart. So before starting to exercise or lifting some weight, it is recommended to consult with a doctor. The doctor can help you to perform that exercise which will be best for your health condition.

Healthy Diet to Reverse or Reduce the Risk of Ischemic Cardiomyopathy. It is also important to maintain a healthy diet. Everyday must include intake of fruits, vegetables, whole grains, legumes, non-fat dairy products, egg whites, soy products, etc. You should avoid taking fats, sugar, fried and processed carbs. It is very important to limit the intake of caffeine and alcohol and quit smoking.

Maintain a Healthy Body Weight to Reduce the Risk of Ischemic Cardiomyopathy. Maintaining a healthy weight is also very essential in reducing the risk of ischemic cardiomyopathy. You should have enough sleep that will help you to manage the level of stress.

Medication. When it comes to medication, doctors can prescribe beta blockers, calcium channel blocker, aldosterone inhibitor, blood thinner medicine, etc. that can ease the symptoms of ischemic cardiomyopathy and can prevent any further complication or can improve the function of the heart to some extent. Beta blockers work excellently to lessen the high blood pressure or heart rate. Similarly, what calcium channel blocker does is that it helps the patient to relax and widen the arteries. Aldosterone inhibitor helps in lessening the swelling and reducing shortness of breath. Blood thinner medicines thin the blood so that they can pass through the blood vessel easily. With these kinds of medication, doctors reduce the complication of ischemic cardiomyopathy.

Surgery for Ischemic Cardiomyopathy. Surgery is also recommended in severe cases. Doctors may advise to implant pacemaker, a defibrillator that can help the patient in improving the electrical function of the heart. Sometimes the patient may also require balloon angioplasty which can help to improve the blood flow in the narrow arteries.

These are some ways by which the complication of ischemic cardiomyopathy can be reduced to a certain level even if not totally reversed.

Thus you can see that reserving the condition of ischemic cardiomyopathy may not be possible but you can certainly control it to a great extent. Reserving or controlling of ischemic cardiomyopathy mainly depends on maintaining a healthy lifestyle, using medication that helps in reducing high blood pressure, prevent blood clot, lessen inflammation, etc. However, in severe cases, one may have to go for the surgery which is the final option for the patient suffering from ischemic cardiomyopathy.