Artem has a doctor of veterinary medicine degree.
City pipes channel water to your home. What is water? A nutrient that keeps you alive. Similarly, your body's arteries channel oxygenated blood to your tissues. And what is blood? Something that carries oxygen and nutrients to keep your tissues alive.
If an artery constricts too much or becomes significantly obstructed, then the tissue supplied by that artery won't receive enough oxygenated blood. Such a morbid state is known as ischemia and it might lead to the permanent dysfunction of the tissue it affects if not corrected in time.
When the ischemia occurs in and causes a problem of the heart, this is called ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Let's learn about the signs, symptoms, and causes of ischemic cardiomyopathy.
Ischemic cardiomyopathy is a term that more specifically refers to the significant dysfunction of the heart's left ventricle, namely as a result of myocardial infarction or coronary artery disease. The left ventricle is one of the four chambers of the heart. It is the chamber that pumps oxygenated blood out from the heart and into general arterial circulation.
Myocardial infarction is the technical term for a heart attack. A heart attack can occur for multiple reasons, but one big reason for heart attacks is the blockage of coronary arteries by a blood clot. Coronary arteries are the blood vessels that supply the heart with oxygenated blood. If an artery gets blocked by a blood clot, then (like a city pipe blocked with a plug of some sort) it can't deliver its contents to anything past the point of blockage. That means a section of heart muscle doesn't receive oxygenated blood.
The other major reason for ischemic cardiomyopathy, one that makes a heart attack also more likely to occur, is coronary artery disease. This is a general term for a condition where, among other things, the coronary arteries narrow. With narrowed coronary arteries, less oxygenated blood can get through to the heart muscle.
 |
So, what signs and symptoms can we expect in a person with ischemic cardiomyopathy? They include the likes of:
Ischemia, an inadequate supply of oxygenated blood to a tissue, can affect the heart. This could be as a result of a myocardial infarction, or heart attack, or as a result of coronary artery disease, where the coronary arteries narrow. The coronary arteries are the blood vessels that supply the heart muscle with oxygenated blood. In either case, the heart's left ventricle may dysfunction quite significantly. The left ventricle is the one that pumps oxygenated blood into systemic (body-wide) circulation.
If such a sequence of events occurs, we call this ischemic cardiomyopathy. Some of the potential signs and symptoms of ischemic cardiomyopathy include:
The contents of the Study.com Site, such as text, graphics, images, and other material contained on the Study.com Site ('Content') are for informational purposes only. The Content is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Always seek the advice of your physician or other qualified health provider with any questions you may have regarding a medical condition. Never disregard professional medical advice or delay in seeking it because of something you have read on the Study.com Site.
If you think you may have a medical emergency, call your doctor or 911 immediately. Study.com does not recommend or endorse any specific tests, physicians, products, procedures, opinions, or other information that may be mentioned on the Site. Reliance on any information provided by Study.com, Study.com employees, others appearing on the Site at the invitation of Study.com, or other visitors to the Site is solely at your own risk.
To unlock this lesson you must be a Study.com Member.
Create your account
Already a member? Log In
BackAlready registered? Log in here for access
Did you know… We have over 200 college courses that prepare you to earn credit by exam that is accepted by over 1,500 colleges and universities. You can test out of the first two years of college and save thousands off your degree. Anyone can earn credit-by-exam regardless of age or education level.
To learn more, visit our Earning Credit Page
Not sure what college you want to attend yet? Study.com has thousands of articles about every imaginable degree, area of study and career path that can help you find the school that's right for you.
Back To Course
Middle School Life Science: Help and Review33 chapters | 319 lessons | 1 flashcard set
{{courseNav.course.topics.length}} chapters | {{courseNav.course.mDynamicIntFields.lessonCount}} lessons | {{course.flashcardSetCount}} flashcard set{{course.flashcardSetCoun > 1 ? 's' : ''}}
Watch 5 minute video clips, get step by step explanations, take practice quizzes and tests to master any topic.
Study.com has a library of 750,000 questions and answers for covering your toughest textbook problems
I love the way expert tutors clearly explains the answers to my homework questions. Keep up the good work!
- Maritess, College StudentStudy.com video lessons have helped over 30 million students.
"I learned more in 10 minutes than 1 month of chemistry classes"
- Ashlee P.
"I learned more in 10 minutes than 1 month of chemistry classes"
- Ashlee P.
"I aced the CLEP exam and earned 3 college credits!"
- Clair S.
Over 65 million users have prepared for {{displayNameByProductKey[registrationData.product || testPrepCocoon]}} and other exams on Study.com
"The videos have changed the way I teach! The videos on Study.com accomplish in 5 minutes what would take me an entire class."
- Chris F.
Over 65 million users have prepared for {{displayNameByProductKey[registrationData.product || testPrepCocoon]}} and other exams on Study.com
