Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Diagnosis & Tests (Dilated Congestive Cardiomyopathy)

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Category : Health Centers > Heart Diseases

Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Alternate Names : Dilated Congestive Cardiomyopathy

Dilated Cardiomyopathy | Symptoms & Signs | Diagnosis & Tests | Prevention & Expectations | Treatment & Monitoring

How is the condition diagnosed?

A healthcare provider may suspect this disease after he or she takes the person's health history and does a physical exam. An ECG, or heart tracing, and chest x-ray may show certain changes. Echocardiography, a test that uses sound waves to look at the heart, can show the flabby heart muscle and how poorly it pumps blood. Other special x-ray tests may also be used in some cases. Rarely, a biopsy of the heart muscle is advised. This is a procedure to remove a small piece of heart muscle so that it can be sent to the lab and analyzed.

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Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Symptoms & Signs		Dilated Cardiomyopathy: Prevention & Expectations

Author: Eric Berlin, MD
Reviewer: Adam Brochert, MD
Date Reviewed: 06/01/01

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