Understand Your Risk for Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy can affect all ages and races, but certain types of the disease are more common in certain groups.
Major risk factors
Certain diseases, conditions or factors can raise your risk for cardiomyopathy. The major risk factors are:
- Age ‒ some types of cardiomyopathy are more common in certain age groups.
- Family history of cardiomyopathy, heart failure or sudden cardiac arrest (SCA)
- A disease or condition that can lead to cardiomyopathy, such as coronary heart disease, heart attack or an infection that causes inflammation in the heart muscle.
- Diabetes, obesity or other metabolic and hormonal disorders
- Diseases that can damage the heart, such as hemochromatosis, sarcoidosis or amyloidosis
- Chemotherapy or radiation treatments for cancer
- Excessive alcohol use
- Uncontrolled high blood pressure
