Cardiac Catheterization and Coronary Angiography in Patients with Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathies are a group of heart diseases that influence muscles directly and are not related to congenital, valvular, and pericardial diseases (Salehifar et al., 2008). Cardiomyopathies are usually classified on the basis of structural or functional causes. Thus, dilated cardiomyopathy is characterized by an enlarged ventricular chamber size and reduced cardiac contractility, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is characterized by hypertrophy of the ventricular walls and increased cardiac performance and finally the restrictive form is characterized by stiff ventricular walls which restrict diastolic filling of the ventricle while systolic performance is not impaired (Ammash et al., 2000; Dec & Fuster ,1994). The classification by the American Heart Association Scientific Statement panel divides cardiomyopathy into primary and secondary causes (Maron et al., 2006).In this classification primary cardiomyopathies are subdivided into genetic, mixed and acquired groups.