Abstract
The etiology of congestive cardiomyopathy remains unknown in most patients. Special interest has therefore been paid to the pathophysiological aspects of this disease, because possible relations with the pathogenesis and the natural history may be illuminated. Three main topics will be discussed in detail:
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1.
Although there is no pathognomonic histological finding in myocardial biopsy specimens of patients with congestive cardiomyopathy, the relation between the morphological alteration and the impairment of cardiac function is of primary interest.
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2.
The enhancement of sympathetic activity in patients with impaired cardiac function may on one hand be a useful compensatory mechanism, but may on the other hand further aggravate the clinical course of the disease. The favourable effects of beta-receptor blockers in patients with congestive cardiomyopathy [1] may point in this direction.
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3.
Angina pectoris occurs in about 40% of patients with congestive cardio-myopathy, the cause of which remains obscure [2]. The coronary arteries as shown by selective coronary angiography are normal. Coronary dilatory reserve could be diminished either because of “small-vessel disease” or because of a functional disorder of the arterioles.
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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg
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Mehmel, H.C. et al. (1983). Congestive Cardiomyopathy: Pathophysiological Aspects. In: Just, H., Schuster, H.P. (eds) Myocarditis Cardiomyopathy. International Boehringer Mannheim Symposia. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68608-5_16
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-68608-5_16
Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg
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