‘Cardiomyopathy’ describes disease of the heart muscle. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) defines cardiomyopathy as ‘a myocardial disorder in which the heart muscle is structurally and functionally abnormal in the absence of coronary artery disease, hypertension, valvular disease, and congenital heart disease sufficient to explain the observed myocardial abnormality’. In Europe, approximately 1 in 400 people suffer with some form of cardiomyopathy, and this is likely to be an underestimate due to a proportion of asymptomatic patients. Cardiomyopathy often has a strong genetic component. GPs are well placed to identify high-risk individuals due to their knowledge of a patient's family history. Cardiomyopathies are chronic conditions, and GPs are therefore central in the long-term management of these patients.
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