What is the primary treatment option for severe restrictive cardiomyopathy?

In the management of severe restrictive cardiomyopathy, the primary treatment option is heart transplant. This condition is characterized by a stiffening of the ventricular walls that restricts the filling of the heart chambers, leading to heart failure symptoms. Due to this restriction, standard medical therapies often provide limited relief because they do not address the underlying structural issue.

Heart transplantation is considered the definitive treatment for severe cases that do not respond adequately to medical therapies, as transplantation can provide a new, healthy heart that allows for normal filling and effective pumping of blood. When other treatments fail to improve the patient's quality of life or when significant heart failure symptoms develop, heart transplant becomes the best option for long-term survival and improvement in functional status.

While diuretics may be used to manage fluid overload and alleviate some symptoms, they do not treat the underlying cause of the restrictive physiology. Similarly, beta-blockers and anticoagulation therapy can have roles in managing certain symptoms or comorbid conditions, but they do not address the need for a structural solution in severe cases. Therefore, heart transplant emerges as the most viable option to improve prognosis and quality of life in individuals with severe restrictive cardiomyopathy.