Knowing your body and symptoms of heart failure is getting worse will help you stay healthy and out of hospital. At home, pay attention to changes in symptoms, heart rate, pulse, blood pressure, and weight. Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart becomes weakened and enlarged. As a result, the heart can not pump enough blood throughout the body. Dilated cardiomyopathy can affect people of all ages, including infants and children.