What happens to the myocardium in restrictive cardiomyopathy?

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Multiple Choice

What happens to the myocardium in restrictive cardiomyopathy?

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is defined by a stiff, noncompliant ventricle that cannot expand properly during filling. When the myocardium is infiltrated with abnormal tissue (for example, amyloid deposits or fibrosis), its walls become less able to relax and accommodate volume. This impaired diastolic filling leads to higher filling pressures and impaired ventricular filling, while systolic function is often preserved early on. The infiltrative process also disrupts normal wall motion and relaxation, so the heart has abnormal contraction-relaxation dynamics. This explains why the description of the myocardium being infiltrated with abnormal tissue causing impaired ventricular wall motion and abnormal contraction and relaxation is the best fit. Other patterns fit different diseases: thickened myocardium with preserved chamber size points more toward hypertrophic remodeling; dilation with preserved contraction suggests dilated cardiomyopathy; regional inflammatory infiltration without fibrosis characterizes myocarditis.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is defined by a stiff, noncompliant ventricle that cannot expand properly during filling. When the myocardium is infiltrated with abnormal tissue (for example, amyloid deposits or fibrosis), its walls become less able to relax and accommodate volume. This impaired diastolic filling leads to higher filling pressures and impaired ventricular filling, while systolic function is often preserved early on. The infiltrative process also disrupts normal wall motion and relaxation, so the heart has abnormal contraction-relaxation dynamics. This explains why the description of the myocardium being infiltrated with abnormal tissue causing impaired ventricular wall motion and abnormal contraction and relaxation is the best fit.

Other patterns fit different diseases: thickened myocardium with preserved chamber size points more toward hypertrophic remodeling; dilation with preserved contraction suggests dilated cardiomyopathy; regional inflammatory infiltration without fibrosis characterizes myocarditis.

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