What effect does caffeine have on someone with cardiomyopathy?
Caffeine is a cardiac stimulant and therefore in some people may precipitate rapid heart rhythms. These may or may not be associated with symptoms. The commonest effect is to experience a sensation of rapid heart beat or palpitations. General advice is that people should minimise their caffeine intake. What is fractional shortening? Fractional shortening is a simple measure of the pump function of the heart. It is the ratio between the diameter of the left ventricle when it is relaxed and its diameter when it has contracted. A normal value is anything in excess of 26 per cent. How common is it for cardiomyopathy to be genetic? All cardiomyopathies can be genetic. Best estimates for the proportion of patients who have genetic disease in each cardiomyopathy are: hypertrophic (50-60 per cent); dilated (25 per cent or more); arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy (30-40 per cent). With the greater use of family screening and genetic testing, it is likely that these proportions wil
