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Many times, the cause of cardiomyopathy isn’t known. Cardiomyopathy can be acquired (you are not born with the condition but develop it due to another disease, condition, or factor) or inherited (your parents passed the gene for the disease on to you).

A blood or bone marrow transplant replaces abnormal blood-forming stem cells with healthy cells. When the healthy stem cells come from you, the procedure is called an autologous transplant. When the stem cells come from another person, called a donor, it is an allogeneic transplant.

A cardiac CT scan is a painless imaging test that uses x rays to take many detailed pictures of your heart and its blood vessels.

Carotid ultrasound is a painless imaging test that uses high-frequency sound waves to create pictures of the inside of your carotid arteries. This test uses an ultrasound machine, which includes a computer, a screen, and a transducer.

A chest CT scan is a more detailed type of chest x ray. This painless imaging test takes many detailed pictures, called slices, of your lungs and the inside of your chest.

A chest x ray is a fast and painless imaging test that uses certain electromagnetic waves to create pictures of the structures in and around your chest.

An electrocardiogram, also called an ECG or EKG, is a simple, painless test that detects and records your heart’s electrical activity. An EKG can show how fast your heart is beating, whether the rhythm of your heartbeats is steady or irregular, and the strength and timing of the electrical impulses passing through each part of your heart.

A heart murmur is an unusual sound heard between heartbeats. Murmurs sometimes sound like a whooshing or swishing noise. Murmurs may be harmless, also called innocent, or abnormal.

Treatments for congenital heart defects include medicines, surgery, and cardiac catheterization procedures. Many congenital heart defects do not require treatment at all. However, children with critical congenital heart defects will need surgery in the first year of life.

Blood donation is a safe and simple procedure that involves volunteers giving whole blood, red blood cells, plasma, or platelets.