Restrictive cardiomyopathy is the rarest form of cardiomyopathy, and it is a condition where the walls of the lower chambers of the heart (ventricles) are abnormally rigid, and do not have the flexibility to expand, when the ventricles fill with blood. Those who suffer from restrictive cardiomyopathy may or may not exhibit symptoms, some can even live a completely normal life, but major symptoms that affect a person’s living include palpitations (fluttering in the chest due caused by abnormal heart rhythms), weight gain, chest pain or pressure (usually occurring with exercise or physical activity), heart failure symptoms, fatigue, swelling of the lower extremities, and fainting.

Restrictive cardiomyopathy is usually not an inherited disease, and most often, the cause is unknown, but some of the known causes are chest exposure (because of radiation), build up of fat and proteins in the heart muscle, connective tissue disease, build up of scar tissue (after a heart attack), and excess of iron in the heart.

The disease is diagnosed based on a person’s medical history, physical exam, and tests like chest X-ray, echocardiogram, electrocardiogram, blood tests, exercise stress tests, CT scan, cardiac catheterization, MRI and radionuclide studies. A myocardial biopsy is also done.