What is the most common cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is most often caused by abnormal genes in the heart muscle. These genes cause the walls of the heart chamber (left ventricle) to contract harder and become thicker than normal. The thickened walls become stiff.
What causes enlarged heart cardiomyopathy?
An enlarged heart may be the result of a short-term stress on the body, such as pregnancy, or a medical condition, such as the weakening of the heart muscle, coronary artery disease, heart valve problems or abnormal heart rhythms.
What is the main cause of cardiomyopathy?
Viral infections in the heart are a major cause of cardiomyopathy. In some cases, another disease or its treatment causes cardiomyopathy. This might include complex congenital (present at birth) heart disease, nutritional deficiencies, uncontrollable, fast heart rhythms, or certain types of chemotherapy for cancer.
How does hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affect the heart?
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a complex type of heart disease that affects the heart muscle. It causes thickening of the heart muscle (especially the ventricles, or lower heart chambers), left ventricular stiffness, mitral valve changes and cellular changes.
How long can you live with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
Research has shown that with proper treatment and follow-ups, most people with HCM live a normal life. A database of 1,297 patients with HCM from the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation identified that 2% of the patients can live past 90 years, and 69% of them were women.
Should I worry about an abnormal EKG?
An abnormal EKG can mean many things. Sometimes an EKG abnormality is a normal variation of a heart’s rhythm, which does not affect your health. Other times, an abnormal EKG can signal a medical emergency, such as a myocardial infarction (heart attack) or a dangerous arrhythmia.
What are the 3 types of cardiomyopathy?
The main types of cardiomyopathy include dilated, hypertrophic and restrictive cardiomyopathy. Treatment — which might include medications, surgically implanted devices, heart surgery or, in severe cases, a heart transplant — depends on which type of cardiomyopathy you have and how serious it is.
What causes sudden death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
It occurs in about 1 out of 100 adults with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy each year. Sudden death is often the result of ventricular tachycardia (a type of rapid heart rate) or other dangerous arrhythmias, which can be caused by hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
What does it mean if my EKG is abnormal?
What happens to the heart with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
The ventricles must pump harder to overcome the narrowing or blockage. This type of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be called hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). HCM also may cause thickening in other parts of the heart muscle, such as the bottom of the heart called the apex, right ventricle, or throughout the entire left ventricle.
Can a gene defect cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy ( HCM )?
HCM can be inherited, caused by an abnormality in a gene that codes the characteristics for the heart muscle. There are many genes that can cause HCM. When a gene defect is present, the type of HCM that develops varies greatly within the family.
Are there any medications for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
There are currently no disease-specific medications for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. For people with HCM who don’t have symptoms, lifestyle changes and medications for conditions that may contribute to cardiovascular disease are recommended. For those with symptoms, the focus is on symptom management using medications and procedures.
What causes leaky mitral valve in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
Basically, one of the two leaflets of the mitral valve gets caught in the blood as it leaves the ventricle (anteriorly) which adds to the blockage and usually causes a leaky mitral valve (mitral regurgitation). Other names for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy include: idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic stenosis (IHSS),…