Question

How is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) characterized?

Answer 1

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy:

1. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic disorder in which the heart muscle becomes thickened and thus make it harder for the heart to pump blood.
2. It often goes undiagnosed, as the patient usually does not experience any major symptoms, except shortness of breath, chest pain or abnormal heart rhythms.
3. Some of its characteristics include:
   1. Enlargement and thickening of the walls of the left ventricle (left ventricular hypertrophy) unexplained by secondary causes.
   2. Non-dilated left ventricle with preserved or increased percentage of blood the left ventricle pumps out with each contraction (ejection fraction)
   3. Absence of an accountable increase in the pressure that the heart must work against to eject blood during systole.