2007-01-11T18:55:00.000-08:00

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 and/or sudden cardiac death.[1]
Cardiomyopathies can generally be categorized into two groups, based on World Health Organization guidelines: extrinsic cardiomyopathies and intrinsic cardiomyopathies.[2]
Contents[hide]
1 Extrinsic cardiomyopathies
1.1 Ischemic cardiomyopathy
1.2 Cardiomyopathy due to systemic diseases
2 Intrinsic cardiomyopathies
3 Treatment
4 References
5 External links
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[edit] 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]
Ischemic (or ischaemic) cardiomyopathy
Hypertensive cardiomyopathy
Valvular cardiomyopathy
Inflammatory cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy secondary to a systemic disease
Alcoholic cardiomyopathy

[edit] Ischemic cardiomyopathy
Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a weakness in the muscle of the heart due to inadequate oxygen delivery to the myocardium with coronary artery disease being the most common cause. Anemia and sleep apnea are relatively common conditions that can contribute to ischemic myocardium and hyperthyroidism can cause a 'relative' ischemia secondary to high output heart failure. Individuals with ischemic cardiomyopathy typically have a history of myocardial infarction (heart attack), although longstanding ischemia can cause enough damage to the myocardium to precipitate a clinically significant cardiomyopathy even in the absence of myocardial infarction. In a typical presentation, the area of the heart affected by a myocardial infarction will initially become necrotic as it dies, and will then be replaced by scar tissue (fibrosis). This fibrotic tissue is akinetic; it is no longer muscle and cannot contribute to the heart's function as a pump. If this akinetic region of the heart is substantial enough, the affected side of the heart (i.e. the left or right side) will go into failure, and this failure is the functional result of an ischemic cardiomyopathy.

[edit] Cardiomyopathy due to systemic diseases
Many diseases can result in cardiomyopathy. These include diseases like hemochromatosis, (an abnormal accumulation of iron in the liver and other organs), amyloidosis (an abnormal accumulation of the amyloid protein), diabetes, hyperthyroidism, lysosomal storage diseases and the muscular dystrophies.

[edit] Intrinsic cardiomyopathies
An intrinsic cardiomyopathy is weakness in the muscle of the heart that is not due to an identifiable external cause. To make a diagnosis of an intrinsic cardiomyopathy, significant coronary artery disease should be ruled out (amongst other things). The term intrinsic cardiomyopathy does not describe the specific etiology of weakened heart muscle. The intrinsic cardiomyopathies are a mixed-bag of disease states, each with their own causes.
Intrinsic cardiomyopathy has a number of causes including drug and alcohol toxicity, certain infections (including Hepatitis C), and various genetic and idiopathic (i.e., unknown) causes.
There are four main types of intrinsic cardiomyopathy:[2][3]
Dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM), the most common form, and one of the leading indications for heart transplantation. In DCM the heart (especially the left ventricle) is enlarged and the pumping function is diminished. Approximately 40% of cases are familial, but the genetics are poorly understood compared with HCM. In some cases it manifests as peripartum cardiomyopathy, and in other cases it may be associated with alcoholism.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM or HOCM), a genetic disorder caused by various mutations in genes encoding sarcomeric proteins. In HCM the heart muscle is thickened, which can obstruct blood flow and prevent the heart from functioning properly.
Arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (ARVC) arises from an electrical disturbance of the heart in which heart muscle is replaced by fibrous scar tissue. The right ventricle is generally most affected.
Restrictive cardiomyopathy (RCM) is the least common cardiomyopathy. The walls of the ventricles are stiff, but may not be thickened, and resist the normal filling of the heart with blood. A rare form of restrictive cardiomyopathy is the obliterative cardiomyopathy, seen in the hypereosinophilic syndrome. In this type of cardiomyopathy, the myocardium in the apicies of the left and right ventricles become thickened and fibrotic, causing a decrease in the volumes of the ventricles and a type of restrictive cardiomyopathy.

[edit] Treatment
Treatment depends on the type of cardiomyopathy, but may include medical therapy and implanted artificial pacemakers. The goal of treatment is often symptom relief, with the underlying condition unaffected. Some patients may eventually require a heart transplant. Treatment of cardiomyopathy (and other heart diseases) using alternative methods such as stem cell therapy is commercially available but is not supported by convincing evidence.

[edit] References
^ Kasper, Denis L. et al (2005). Harrison's Principles of Internal Medicine, 16th edn. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-139140-1.
^ a b c Richardson, P. et al (1996). "Report of the 1995 World Health Organization/International Society and Federation of Cardiology Task Force on the Definition and Classification of cardiomyopathies". Circulation 93 (5): 841-2. PMID 8598070. (Full text)
^ Cardiomyopathy Association. About cardiomyopathy. Retrieved on 2006-09-28.

Medical anthropology

2007-01-11T18:46:00.000-08:00

Medical anthropology is a sub-branch of anthropology that is concerned with the application of anthropological and social science theories and methods to questions about health, illness and healing. Some medical anthropologists are trained primarily in anthropology as their main discipline, while others have studied anthropology after training and working in health or related professions such as medicine, nursing or psychology. Medical anthropologists conduct research in settings as diverse as rural villages and urban hospitals and clinics. They may teach medical anthropology in university anthropology departments, medical and nursing schools and in community-based settings.
Themes and questions in medical anthropology include:
Development of systems of medical knowledge and health care
Patient-practitioner relationships
Integrating alternative medical systems in culturally diverse environments
The interactions between biological, environmental and social factors influencing health and illness at both individual and community levels
The impacts of biomedicine and biomedical technologies in non-Western settings

My 1st post

2007-01-09T00:57:00.003-08:00

this is my 1st post for the moment..........

well since this entire blog "should" be dedicated to the medical world,ill start it off with a genuine article by ME!!!!

Euthanasia,its a very sensitive issue nowadayas, the pro's wont budge a inch and niether will the contra's....it gets tense between those two groups,trust me i know ive seen it myself!but seriously,what's the problem??
before we deal with anything else,we have to know the definition,we have to know what euthanasia is.....if your like mee, uve probably wouldve thought that its bout the youth-in-asia,whats wrong with them?alotta hings but thats not what euthanasia is,its the merciful killing of someone in reaaaaally bad pain.
Sooooo,killing for a good cause right? according to contras......WRONG.....how can we consider killing merciful,it took at a 25yr old guy 25 years of hard work and sacrifice to get here, and your gonna end it in 5 mins?? Thats jest not fair!!! Plus according to the Al Quran and virtually every man's life is sanctified,thus what else can we say...........its jest plain ol wrong to kill a man even if it is for "mercy"........

From a Scrubs fan

Medical anthropology

My 1st post