Immunoapheresis treatment for cardiomyopathy comprises passing the
patient's plasma over a column having coupled thereto a specific ligand for human
immunoglobulin, thereby removing a significant portion of the immunoglobulin from
the patient's plasma, and then reinfusing the plasma to the patient. The invention
is the use of a specific ligand for human immunoglobulin in the manufacture of
a column having the ligand coupled thereto, the column being useful for immunoapheresis
treatment of a patient with cardiomyopathy. The specific ligand binds, and thereby
removes, human autoantibodies which are harmful to cardiac tissue such as antibodies
against 1-adrenergic receptors, ADP-ATP carriers, and
myosin heavy chains, and adenine nucleotide translocators. Immunoapheresis
treatment using the column results in improvement of hemodynamic parameters such
as mean arterial pressure, mean pulmonary pressure, pumonary capillary wedge pressure,
right atrial pressure, cardiac output, cariac index, stroke volume index, and systemic
vascular resistance.
