A Little on Cardiomyopathies Trivia Quiz

Answer: Heart muscle disease

Cardiomyopathies are a group of heart diseases in which there is an abnormality in the functioning of the muscles of the heart or cardiac muscles. The heart is made up of specialized muscle cells which are different from the muscles in other parts of the body. So if someone has cardiomyopathy, only the muscles in the heart will be affected and not other muscles. Cardiomyopathies are serious conditions that can be life threatening.

Answer: Dilated cardiomyopathy

The three main types of cardiomyopathies are dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathies. Of these, dilated cardiomyopathies are the most common. The restrictive type is the least common of the three. These three types are very different from each other but some symptoms can overlap between the three types.

Answer: Any of them

There are many causes of cardiomyopathies. Certain infections by bacteria and viruses can cause these conditions. Drugs which are toxic to the heart have been known to cause cardiomyopathies, in addition to alcohol. Other causes can be leukemia, hyperthyroidism and protein deficiencies. Genetics has been linked to cardiomyopathies and is included in the list of its causes.

Answer: It is one of the largest proteins in humans

Titin is a protein in the human body, in the production of which the gene called TTN is involved. This protein was named titin as it is a giant protein and the name is derived from the term 'Titan' meaning anything of great size (related to the Greek Titans).

This protein is involved in very specific processes in muscle cells. In dilated cardiomyopathies, one of the main cause is genetics. There mostly will be mutation in the TTN gene which will cause an abnormality in the titin protein and then in muscle cells.

Answer: Paracetamol

Doxorubicin is a chemotherapeutic drug which has been linked to dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). It goes by another name, Adriamycin. Cobalt, a heavy metal, is toxic to the heart and has been noted to cause DCM, as well. Alcohol abuse is one of the main causes of DCM either due to ethanol toxicity or some other nutritional defect that already existed.

Paracetamol is a common analgesic drug (painkiller) used to treat fever and pain.

Answer: Before birth or sometime after birth

As the term peripartum indicates, it can occur before birth or after pregnancy. There is a lot of speculation about how this is caused although many believe it is because of abnormalities in the micro-circulation of some pregnant women's heart muscles.

Other causes of dilated cardiomyopathy include hyperthyroidism or iron overload due to multiple blood transfusions, for example.

Answer: Octopus trap

The word 'takotsubo' translates to octopus trap in Japanese. In patients with takotsubo cardiomyopathy, the left ventricle of the heart would take on a shape that resembles an octopus trap. This condition is caused by stress so it is also called broken heart syndrome.

This condition causes the heart's muscles to become weak. A disease called pheochromocytoma in which there are excess hormones from the adrenal glands can lead to this condition. The hormone adrenaline is said to play a major role in instigating this condition.

Answer: Shrunken

In cases of dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM) the heart would be enlarged, heavy and flabby. As the name implies, this is because all the chambers of the heart would be dilated (or expanded). The valves are usually normal but, sometimes, there may be an abnormality in their functioning.

Microscopically, the heart muscle cells would be enlarged (hypertrophied), and some may be stretched. It is generally believed that the more severe the changes in the structure of the heart - both gross and microscopic - the more severe the condition of the patient.

Answer: True

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the main causes of sudden cardiac death in young people especially young athletes, although it can cause sudden death in all ages. Another complication of this disease can be irregular heart beats and many young people with this condition develop heart failure.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a disease inherited through genes - children of an affected family member have a 50% chance of inheriting the defective gene.

Answer: Coronary artery bypass graft surgery

Heart transplants are usually considered for patients who do not respond or improve with other measures. Septal myectomy is a open-heart surgical procedure, which is done in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy who are troubled by their symptoms. Implantable pacemakers and defibrillators are devices which are placed in the body of the patients and generate electrical impulses which are transmitted to the heart to regulate its beating.

A coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) is normally carried out for coronary artery disease.