Symptoms of cardiomyopathy can go unnoticed

The most common symptoms are shortness of breath, swelling of the ankles and abdomen, excessive tiredness and palpitations.

Sometimes it takes a shock event — such as the sudden death of a much-loved celebrity — to shine a light on a health condition.

The news this month that George Michael’s untimely death on Christmas Day, aged just 53, happened as a result of dilated cardiomyopathy with myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscles) and a fatty liver is a prime example — and, as it turns out, there’s good reason to put it in the spotlight.