4 months ago i was diagnosed with enlarge heart on my left side and having cardiomyotophy. The past 3 weeks i have noticed that my heart will start to beat really fast like palpitations i can be sitting down or laying down. What does that mean?

Hello Anon

Thank you for writing!

Cardiomyopathy refers to heart muscle disease. The damaged heart does not effectively pump blood. The disease usually progresses to the point where patients develop life-threatening heart failure . In addition, people with cardiomyopathy are more likely to have irregular heartbeats or arrhythmias. You may be dealing with arrhythmia.

Arrhythmias are abnormal beats of the heart. Types of arrhythmias include:

Heartbeats that are too slow ( bradycardia )
Heartbeats that are too fast ( tachycardia )
Extra beats
Skipped beats
Beats coming from abnormal areas of the heart

Treatment may include:

Antiarrhythmic Medications
These will help slow down or speed up your heart rate, or return your heart rhythm to normal (cardioversion), depending on your need.

Electrical Cardioversion or Defibrillation
These treatments involve placing paddles on the chest or back. An electrical current is passed through the chest wall to the heart to reset its electrical circuits, and attempt to return the heart rhythm to normal.

Automatic Implantable Defibrillator
A tiny defibrillator can be surgically implanted in your chest to monitor your heart rhythm. If a dangerous arrhythmia is detected, the device automatically shocks the heart in an attempt to return the heart rhythm to normal.

Artificial Pacemaker
This device is surgically implanted in your chest. It takes over the job of providing the electrical impulses needed for establishing an appropriate heart rhythm.

Ablation Therapy
An area of the heart that is responsible for an abnormal rhythm may be surgically removed or altered (ablated) with various techniques (eg, cryoablation ) to prevent it from generating an arrhythmia.

Anon, please call your doctor and talk to him/her about your symptoms. You may need and exam and testing.

Best,
Susan