How Can Cardiomyopathy Be Prevented?

People can make lifestyle choices to reduce the risk of conditions that may lead to cardiomyopathy, such as coronary artery disease, high blood pressure, and heart attack. Examples of lifestyle choices include:

• Quitting smoking
• Eating a healthy diet and maintaining a healthy weight
• Getting regular physical exercise
• Avoiding the use of alcohol and illegal drugs

People also can control high blood pressure, high blood cholesterol, and diabetes by:

• Getting regular checkups with their doctors
• Following their doctors' advice about lifestyle changes
• Taking medicines as directed

Some types of cardiomyopathy, such as inherited forms, can't be prevented. Restrictive cardiomyopathy can't always be prevented because it occurs as the result of another disease. Sometimes, underlying diseases can be prevented or treated early enough to stop restrictive cardiomyopathy from developing.

It may be possible to prevent sudden cardiac death if doctors can identify a person at high risk of this event and treat him or her with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.