Table of ContentsView AllTable of ContentsSymptomsCausesDiagnosisTreatmentLiving with HCM
Table of ContentsView All
View All
Table of Contents
Symptoms
Causes
Diagnosis
Treatment
Living with HCM
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy(HCM) is a relatively common condition in which the heart muscle becomes thick and unable to pump blood normally. Most people with HCM do not have symptoms or find the condition interferes with daily life.
People with symptomatic HCM typically experience shortness of breath, chest pain, and abnormal heart rhythms. Imaging tests are required to detect hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Once diagnosed, HCM can be managed (but not cured) with lifestyle measures and medication.
This article provides an overview of HCM symptoms, causes, diagnosis, and treatment.
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HCM is more common in males than females and typically is not discovered until a person is in their 30s, although symptoms can show up in anyone, at any age. An average of one out of every 485 people in the general population has HCM.
The majority of people who have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy do not experience symptoms. Those who do are likely to experience them as they get older.
Potential symptoms of HCM include:
Complications
In HCM, the muscular walls of the ventricles (the lower chambers of the heart) become abnormally thick—a condition calledhypertrophy. This causes the heart muscle to function abnormally. If severe, the hypertrophy can lead to heart failure andcardiac arrhythmias.
If hypertrophy becomes extreme, it can distort the ventricles, which can interfere with the function of the mitral valve and can cause an obstruction below the aortic valve, disrupting the flow of blood through theheart. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is linked to a number of cardiac health issues, most of which can lead to heart failure.
Diastolic Dysfunction
Diastolic dysfunction refers to an abnormal stiffness of the ventricular muscle, which makes it more difficult for the ventricles to fill with blood in between each beat. In HCM, the hypertrophy itself produces at least some diastolic dysfunction. If severe, diastolic dysfunction can lead to heart failure, fatigue, and severe shortness of breath. Even relatively mild diastolic dysfunction makes it more difficult for patients with HCM to tolerate cardiac arrhythmias, especiallyatrial fibrillation.
Diastolic Dysfunction: Everything You Need to Know
Left Ventricular Outflow Obstruction (LVOT)
In LVOT, thickening of the heart muscle just below the aortic valve creates a partial obstruction known as subvalvular stenosis that interferes with the ability of the left ventricle to eject blood with each heartbeat.
Mitral Regurgitation
In mitral regurgitation, the mitral valve fails to close normally when the left ventricle beats, allowing blood to flow backward (“regurgitate”) into the left atrium. In HCM this occurs due to a distortion in the way the ventricle contracts.
Understanding Mitral Valve Regurgitation: Everything to Know
Ischemia of the Heart Muscle
Withischemia(oxygen deprivation) that occurs as a result of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the heart becomes so thick that some portions of the muscle do not receive enough blood, even when the coronary arteries themselves are completely normal. When this happens,anginacan occur (especially with exertion) and amyocardial infarction(death of heart muscle) is even possible.
Sudden death is the most serious potential complication of HCM. It usually is due toventricular tachycardiaorventricular fibrillation.
HCM can be either obstructive or nonobstructive. In obstructive HCM, the wall (septum) between the two bottom chambers of the heart thickens. The walls of the pumping chamber can also become stiff, blocking or reducing blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta. Most people with HCM have this type.
In nonobstructive HCM, the heart’s main pumping chamber stiffens. This limits how much blood the ventricle can take in and pump out, but blood flow is not blocked.
In almost half of patients with HCM, the genetic disorder is not inherited at all but occurs as a spontaneous gene mutation—in which case, the parents and siblings of the patient will not be at elevated risk for HCM. However, this “new” mutation can be passed on to the next generation.
HCM is more common in males than females. People often discover this condition in their 30s, although anyone, from newborns to the elderly, can show symptoms. Studies suggest an average of one of every 485 people in the general population has HCM.
There are several ways this condition can be diagnosed:
Because HCM is a genetic condition, family members of anyone diagnosed with it should undergo an ECG and an echocardiogram.
How Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Is Diagnosed
Among the treatments used to manage hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are:
HCM is a common cause of sudden death in young athletes. Anyone with HCM should contact their healthcare provider prior to extreme exertion or competitive exercise.For patients with HCM who have a high risk of sudden death, animplantable defibrillatorshould be strongly considered.
What Is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?
If you’ve been diagnosed with HCM, you may have to make a fewlifestyle adjustments, depending on the severity of the disease.
A Word from Verywell
A diagnosis of HCM does not have to stop you from living your life. In most cases, HCM is a relatively benign disease, with approximately two-thirds of patients experiencing a normal life span without significant problems.If you areaware of the diseaseand manage it carefully with the help of your healthcare provider, there’s nothing to prevent you from living a full and active life.
4 SourcesVerywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Marian AJ, Braunwald E.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Genetics, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and therapy.Circ Res. 2017;121(7):749-770. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.311059Jordà P, García-Álvarez A.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Sudden cardiac death risk stratification in adults.Glob Cardiol Sci Pract. 2018;2018(3):25. doi:10.21542/gcsp.2018.25Harmon KG, et al.Incidence, cause, and comparative frequency of sudden cardiac death in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes: a decade in review.Circulation. 2015 Jul 7;132(1):10-9. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015431American Heart Association.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Additional ReadingAntunes MO, Scudeler TL.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc. 2020;27:100503. doi:10.1016/j.ijcha.2020.100503British Heart Foundation.Life with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Liew AC, Vassiliou VS, Cooper R, Raphael CE.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-past, present and future.J Clin Med. 2017;6(12). doi:10.3390/jcm6120118
4 Sources
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.Marian AJ, Braunwald E.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Genetics, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and therapy.Circ Res. 2017;121(7):749-770. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.311059Jordà P, García-Álvarez A.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Sudden cardiac death risk stratification in adults.Glob Cardiol Sci Pract. 2018;2018(3):25. doi:10.21542/gcsp.2018.25Harmon KG, et al.Incidence, cause, and comparative frequency of sudden cardiac death in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes: a decade in review.Circulation. 2015 Jul 7;132(1):10-9. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015431American Heart Association.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Additional ReadingAntunes MO, Scudeler TL.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc. 2020;27:100503. doi:10.1016/j.ijcha.2020.100503British Heart Foundation.Life with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Liew AC, Vassiliou VS, Cooper R, Raphael CE.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-past, present and future.J Clin Med. 2017;6(12). doi:10.3390/jcm6120118
Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read oureditorial processto learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy.
Marian AJ, Braunwald E.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Genetics, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and therapy.Circ Res. 2017;121(7):749-770. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.311059Jordà P, García-Álvarez A.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Sudden cardiac death risk stratification in adults.Glob Cardiol Sci Pract. 2018;2018(3):25. doi:10.21542/gcsp.2018.25Harmon KG, et al.Incidence, cause, and comparative frequency of sudden cardiac death in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes: a decade in review.Circulation. 2015 Jul 7;132(1):10-9. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015431American Heart Association.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Marian AJ, Braunwald E.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Genetics, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and therapy.Circ Res. 2017;121(7):749-770. doi:10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.117.311059
Jordà P, García-Álvarez A.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Sudden cardiac death risk stratification in adults.Glob Cardiol Sci Pract. 2018;2018(3):25. doi:10.21542/gcsp.2018.25
Harmon KG, et al.Incidence, cause, and comparative frequency of sudden cardiac death in National Collegiate Athletic Association athletes: a decade in review.Circulation. 2015 Jul 7;132(1):10-9. doi:10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.015431
American Heart Association.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Antunes MO, Scudeler TL.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc. 2020;27:100503. doi:10.1016/j.ijcha.2020.100503British Heart Foundation.Life with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Liew AC, Vassiliou VS, Cooper R, Raphael CE.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-past, present and future.J Clin Med. 2017;6(12). doi:10.3390/jcm6120118
Antunes MO, Scudeler TL.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.Int J Cardiol Heart Vasc. 2020;27:100503. doi:10.1016/j.ijcha.2020.100503
British Heart Foundation.Life with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Liew AC, Vassiliou VS, Cooper R, Raphael CE.Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy-past, present and future.J Clin Med. 2017;6(12). doi:10.3390/jcm6120118
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