For Your Patients: Coping With a Difficult Diagnosis

Each patient's journey with cardiomyopathy presents its own unique challenges. Getting the support you need can help you thrive through your journey with cardiomyopathy.

Facing the future with a chronic illness can be concerning, particularly as the symptoms progress. One in five patients who progress to heart failure develop depression, which can make it harder to keep up with medication and lifestyle choices that maximize health. Your physician may periodically ask you about mood symptoms with a brief questionnaire and refer you for further care if the screening suggests depression.

Antidepressant medications have been shown to be fairly safe for heart disease patients, although certain types may interfere with heart medications. Talk therapy, known as psychotherapy, may be more effective for heart failure patients. Exercise, too, can reduce depressive symptoms and overall health.

Social isolation and not getting or understanding information about your condition have been linked to poorer outcomes in heart failure. Support groups can lend a listening ear for the many emotions that come with diagnosis and can provide practical advice from others living with the condition. Seeing what others with cardiomyopathy can accomplish may inspire you too.

Local and national organizations host support groups. Hospitals and community organizations may be gathering points, and the nonprofit Mended Hearts has chapters across the country. Others are available online through social media or virtual networks like those of the American Heart Association.

Read previous installments in this series:

Understanding Your Diagnosis of Cardiomyopathy

What to Expect When Your Doctor Suspects Cardiomyopathy

How to Prepare for Your Cardiomyopathy Appointment

Should My Family Be Checked for Cardiomyopathy Too?

Maximizing Your Wellness With Cardiomyopathy

"Medical Journeys" is a set of clinical resources reviewed by doctors, meant for physicians and other healthcare professionals as well as the patients they serve. Each episode of this 12-part journey through a disease state contains both a physician guide and a downloadable/printable patient resource. "Medical Journeys" chart a path each step of the way for physicians and patients and provide continual resources and support, as the caregiver team navigates the course of a disease.