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Doctors usually treat dilated cardiomyopathy with a combination of medications. Depending on your symptoms, you might need two or more of these drugs. Several types of drugs have proved useful in the treatment of heart failure and dilated cardiomyopathy.

Dilated Cardiomyopathy Medications:

1.Anticoagulants:Your doctor may prescribe anticoagulants, which prevent blood clots. These include pirin and warfarin (Coumadin).

2.Digoxin (Lanoxin):This drug, also referred to as digitalis, increases the strength of your heart muscle contractions. It also tends to slow the heartbeat. Digoxin reduces heart failure symptoms and improves your ability to live with dilated cardiomyopathy.

3.Aldosterone Antagonists:These drugs include spironolactone (Aldactone) and eplerenone (Inspra). They’re primarily potassium-sparing diuretics, but they have additional properties that help the heart work better, may reverse scarring of the heart and may help people with severe heart failure live longer. Unlike some other diuretics, spironolactone can raise the level of potassium in your blood to dangerous levels.

4.Diuretics:Often called water pills, diuretics make you urinate more frequently and keep fluid from collecting in your body. The drugs also decrease fluid in your lungs, so you can breathe more easily. Commonly prescribed diuretics for heart failure include bumetanide (Bumex) and furosemide (Lasix). Because some diuretics make your body lose potassium and magnesium, your doctor may also prescribe supplements of these minerals. If you’re taking a diuretic, your doctor will likely monitor levels of potassium and magnesium in your blood through regular blood tests.

5.Beta blockers:A beta blocker slows your heart rate, reduces blood pressure and prevents some the harmful effects of stress hormones, substances produced by your body that can make heart failure worse and can trigger abnormal heart rhythms. Beta blockers may reduce signs and symptoms of heart failure and improve heart function. Examples of beta blockers include carvedilol (Coreg), metoprolol (Toprol XL) and bisoprolol (Zebeta).

6.Angiotensin II (A-II) receptor blockers (ARBs):These drugs, which include losartan (Cozaar) and valsartan (Diovan), have many of the beneficial effects of ACE inhibitors, but they don’t cause a persistent cough. They may be an alternative for people who can’t tolerate ACE inhibitors.

7.Angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors.These drugs help people with dilated cardiomyopathy live longer and feel better. ACE inhibitors are a type of vasodilator, a drug that widens or dilates blood vessels to lower blood pressure, improve blood flow and decrease the workload on the heart. Examples include enalapril (Vasotec), lisinopril (Prinivil, Zestril) and captopril (Capoten).

ACE inhibitors cause an irritating cough in some people. It may be best to put up with the cough, if you can. Discuss this side effect with your doctor. Switching to another ACE inhibitor or an angiotensin II receptor blocker may relieve the cough.

Another misdiagnosis possibility is that a particular medication or substance may be the real cause of the disease. Certain medications, chemicals, toxins or substances may possibly be underlying causes of Dilated cardiomyopathy. Side effects of medications, or exposure to toxins, chemicals, or other substances may cause a symptom or condition. Hence, they become possible underlying causes of Dilated cardiomyopathy but are often misdiagnosed or overlooked as a cause. For a general overview of this misdiagnosis issue, see Medication Underlying Cause Misdiagnosis.