If you've been diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy is it a guaranteed death sentence?

I was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy in 2001. Leading up to the diagnosis I was getting more and more short of breath, sweating profusely, and some swelling. I was working night shift at the hospital (Respiratory therapist) and sitting at the table with a co-worker when she mentioned that I should go to the ER and get checked out, I did. The ECG came back reading Left Bundle Branch Block, We did an echo cardiogram that AM and found I had an EF of 21%, (ejection fraction = The ejection fraction evaluates how well the heart is pumping; Normally 50 - 70 percent). 3 days later we did a heart cath and confirmed the findings from the echo. I was lucky that I found things early with no enlargement of my heart; I started taking Coreg 25mg BID and Altace 10mg QD no strenuous activity for the first year. In Dec 2006 on my last echo my EF is now 55% and I am taking much lower doses of the Coreg and Altace with the same results. I will be on these meds for life but I am still here and very thankful. My strongest recommendation is to listen to your cardiologist and DO WHAT THEY SAY. I was lucky

There were far too many inaccurate answers here that have been removed.

Viral cardiomyopathy is defined as viral persistence in a dilated heart. The deleted answers refer to conditions that have escalated beyond a diagnoses of Viral cardiomyopathy. These would include: inflammatory viral cardiomyopathy (or viral myocarditis with cardiomegaly). There is only a one word difference between the two but it makes a world of difference as far as a mortality rate. I do feel empathy for the contributors that lost a loved one but you have to realize you are describing problems and fatalities that go beyond the diagnoses of Human viral cardiomyopathy. This is only one reason a person should not rely to heavily on answers found in an open forum when health is the topic. Another thing to mention, despite statements to the contrary the diagnosis of myocarditis and viral cardiomyopathy can be made only by endomyocardial biopsy.

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In Feb 2001, I was diagnosed with Viral cardiomyopathy, spent 2 months in a medically induced coma on heart/lung machine, and my heart "healed itself" while I was on the support system waiting for a transplant.

Today I'm back to my old 1 hour/day exercise routine, feel great and show no signs of the disease. I find the info such as the one you received earlier USELESS! I pushed myself to exercise ( I had to relearn to walk after so much bed rest), listening to my heart and resting when necessary, but DID NOT give up.

Too many people take it as a death sentence when in fact 50% of people recover according to my cardiologist! Go to a major institute, such as MD Andersen, Vanderbilt, etc. for treatment. It's worth your while and stay positive! The heart is a muscle and with training, it can be strengthened.

Hang in there and ignore the negatives!

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I was diagnosed with Viral Cardiomyopathy during the latter portion of June 2004. Shortly after I was diagnosed I was given a ICD implant. Do you know of people leading very active lives with these implants. What is the survival rate of this disease.

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I was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy after suffering pancreatitis. My heart is very weak. I also had congestive heart failure in spite of having an artificial heart valve. I spent approximately 2 1/2 months in Temple Univ. Med. Ctr. I have been on a specific protocol and although I am weak at times, I do not feel that it is a death sentence. I'm 68 years old and hope to have another 5-10 years. I don't think many people can have a guarantee as to how long they can live. I have no blockages, kidney disease, pulmonary disease and if I didn't do well on the protocol I was in line for a heart transplant. Yes you do get quite tired, but you have to be aware that at those times you need to rest. The secret is not to overexert yourself.

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I was diagnosed with Viral Cardiomyopathy when I was 26. At the time I was working as a fitness instructor and going to graduate school. My diagnosis was not as severe as others subsequently none of my doctors said anything about dying in 5 years. I have not been as active as I once was but I am still living and have no plans of dieing soon.

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7 years ago wife diag. with "VIRAL CARDIOMYOPATHY"-on medications since and seemly in good health--- NOT OVERWEIGHT--even now with ejection fraction at 15 she is quite active however she now will need pacemaker---The whole point is that since she was never overweight this in itself was a great factor in her long term survival---no she does not exercise a lot good luck youall

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I was diagnosed with viral cardiomyopathy when I was one and a half years old. I was also born with a Ventrical Septal Defect at birth and congestive heart failure. The doctors who delivered me said I wouldn't survive more than a few days. I was brought to Children's Heart Clinic under the care of Dr. Katkov in Minneapolis, Minnesota and he told my parents I would not die. I am now 20 years old and in school going for biology and genetics. I want to be a pediatric cardiologist. I won state for track three years in a row and I have been in dance since I was three. Now I coach danceline. So no, that is not true. As long as you believe and everyone around you believes, you will not die. When you have no hope for living, God sees that, and will do nothing. When you love life and enjoy every part of being on Earth, you will conquer.

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On Christmas Eve in 2004 I went to the emergency room knowing only that my heart was enlarged and that my regular doctor said I had pneumonia. After hours and hours of tests, they finally determined that I was having congestive heart failure and I was admitted. I was 32 years old. On Christmas day I had an echocardiogram done and was told that my ejection fraction was 15%. I spent a whole week in the hospital while they tried to determine what had caused this to happen to me. I had no previous history of heart problems or any problems for that matter. They finally determined that the heart failure had been caused by viral pneumonia. I was released from the hospital and went back to work a week later. After 6 months I had another echocardiogram and was told my ejection fraction was only 25%, but I felt fine. I was exercising every day and didn't really feel like there was anything wrong with me. I was told that the biggest improvement in your ejection fraction is made during the first 6 months. Because mine was still so low, they recommended an ICD. I had the ICD implanted within a couple of weeks. I have never been shocked, but just knowing it is there if I need it makes a world of difference. In June of this year I had another echocardiogram done and was very pleased to find that my ejection fraction was now at 50%. Don't give up and don't think of yourself as a statistic. You have to decide that you are going not going to die. Viral cardiomyopathy is a rare thing, but you can recover from it.

Correcting:

Cardiomyopahty simply a disease or disorder of the heart muscle. It's usually used when the reason or exact etiology of the problem is not known. When you add Viral to the front of this term, it means someone thinks the cause is viral. While it's somewhat less general than "dermatitis", meaning something's wrong with your skin, it's not a specific definition; it's a guess based on symptomology. This explains why there are so many answers above.

And in answer to the first question, NO -- it's not a death sentence by any means.

First answer by ID0000000000. Last edit by Cjonb. Contributor trust: 325 [recommend contributor]. Question popularity: 194 [recommend question]