Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy can come and does come in many different types, forms and names. Arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy is one of these. This is a form of another type of cardiomyopathy, nonischemic. This type of the disease affects the right ventricle of the heart and has hypokinetic areas which use the free wall of the muscle. Often these are replaced with fibro fatty replacements. With all this going on in the body it leads to arrhythmias from the right ventricle.  This type is found to be inherited because of the genetic defects of parts of the individual’s heart muscles. These defects are known as desmosomes. These defected cells are located within the actual heart muscle but are on the surface. They are made up of various proteins which are known to be harmful to the body and can cause unwanted mutations of cells. People who are diagnosed with arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy are found to have certain physical characteristics such as woolly hair and pamoplantar keratoderma because the same genes are inherited. It is not the same with all cases, however it is very common.

Arrhythmogenic Cardiomyopathy can be found in both young adults and children. It is more predominant in males especially Italians and the genetic mutations are most commonly the cause. This type is known for causing ventricular arrhythmias. Research has proven that there are seven different genes that cause this condition; however it is not always the case with every case diagnosed.

If an individual had arrythmogenic cardiomyopathy then they may experience symptoms like dizziness, palpitations, an irregular heart beat which can be known as tachycardia and unfortunately sudden death. Most of these symptoms can be commonly linked to an individuals exercise amounts. The reason behind these symptoms is because of the overflow tract on the right ventricle. Exercise puts pressure on the body and could cause sudden death with people suffering from arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy. This is because of the amount of workload put onto the individual’s heart. If this disease is left untreated it can put the body under a massive strain.

Unfortunately the cause for arrythmogenic cardiomyopathy is unknown; however there are a few theories of it around. One of these is that it is known as the apoptosis, this means that the cells are already programmed death cells within the body. This disease takes over the healthy tissue in the body and replaces it with scar tissue, foreign substances, fatty substances i.e. iron that build up within the individuals body.

Typically if an individual was to take out a form of life insurance or critical illness cover they would be covered should they:

• Die from this disease or
• With the critical illness cover is diagnosed with it. This means that subject to the terms and conditions being met on the policy the benefits of the insurance may be paid out.

If you are generally looking for an insurance policy to cover this specific disease then you will need to ensure that you read the terms and a condition of the policy to ensure that you fully understand what is and isn’t covered.