Restrictive cardiomyopathy is primarily defined by which dysfunction?

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is primarily defined by which dysfunction?

• A. Systolic dysfunction
• B. Pulmonary hypertension
• C. Diastolic dysfunction
• D. Valvular disease

Answer: (C)

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is defined by diastolic dysfunction due to stiff, noncompliant ventricles that impair filling during diastole. The heart’s pumping strength (systolic function) is often preserved, at least early on, but the ventricles cannot relax properly to accommodate blood, so filling pressures rise and symptoms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction develop. Pulmonary hypertension and valvular disease can be associated, but they’re not the defining dysfunction of this condition. The key idea is the impaired ventricular filling from poor compliance, not a primary failure of systolic contraction.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is defined by diastolic dysfunction due to stiff, noncompliant ventricles that impair filling during diastole. The heart’s pumping strength (systolic function) is often preserved, at least early on, but the ventricles cannot relax properly to accommodate blood, so filling pressures rise and symptoms of heart failure with preserved ejection fraction develop. Pulmonary hypertension and valvular disease can be associated, but they’re not the defining dysfunction of this condition. The key idea is the impaired ventricular filling from poor compliance, not a primary failure of systolic contraction.