Cardiomyopathy
Cardiomyopathy is an alteration in the function of the heart muscle. It can occur for several reasons in cats and it can take several forms. When the muscle is sufficiently affected that it can not function properly, heart failure occurs. Cardiomyopathy is the deterioration of the cardiac muscle of the heart wall. Cardiomyopathies can generally be categorized into two groups: ischemic cardiomyopathy and nonischemic cardiomyopathy. Nonischemic cardiomyopathy is weakness in the muscle of the heart that is not due to coronary artery disease.
Congestive heart failure
Congestive heart failure (CHF) (also called heart failure) is the inability of the heart to pump blood effectively to the body, or requiring elevated filling pressures in order to pump effectively. Congestive heart failure occurs when the heart is unable to pump blood effectively throughout the body. The term congestive is used because lung congestion causes some of the main symptoms of heart failure. Heart failure does not mean that your heart has stopped working completely. It means that the heart is not pumping as strongly as it should.
