A Short Communication on Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Anurag Bajaj^*
*Correspondence: Anurag Bajaj, Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, USA, Email:

Introduction

HCM (hypertrophic cardiomyopathy) is a condition in which the heart muscle thickens abnormally (hypertrophied). The heart's swollen muscle can make it more difficult for it to pump blood.

Many persons with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy go undiagnosed because they have few, if any, symptoms and can live regular lives with no severe complications. Shortness of breath, chest pain, or issues with the heart's electrical system can occur in a small proportion of persons with HCM, leading in life-threatening irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmias) or sudden death.

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a serious heart condition that affects the heart muscle. It can lead to: Heart muscle thickening (especially the ventricles or lower heart chambers).

• Stiffness of the left ventricle

• Changes in the mitral valve

• Changes in the cells

Description

Muscle thickening in the heart (myocardium)

The most typical location for this is your septum. The septum is a muscle wall that separates your heart's left and right halves. When the septum between your heart's bottom chambers (or ventricles) thickens, it causes problems.

A narrowing of the septum can restrict or limit blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta, a condition known as outflow tract blockage. To overcome the narrowing or obstruction, the ventricles must pump harder. Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is another name for this form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HOCM). Other sections of your heart muscle, such as the bottom of your heart (called the apex), the right ventricle, or the entire left ventricle, may thicken as a result of HCM [1].

Stiffness in the left ventricle

This happens as a result of cellular changes in your heart muscle that occur when it thickens. Your left ventricle is unable to relax and fill with blood regularly. There is less oxygen-rich blood pumped to your organs and muscles because there is less blood at the conclusion of filling. The rigidity in your left ventricle increases the pressure inside your heart, which can produce symptoms like chest pain [2].

• Breathing problems (shortness of breath)

• Feeling dizzy

• Feeling that your heart’s beating too fast (palpitations)

Your mitral valve does not function correctly when the left ventricular outflow tract narrows. This causes a blockage in outflow and raises pressure in your left ventricle. Your mitral valve colliding with your septum causes the blockage (obstruction). When this happens, your mitral valve often leaks, allowing blood to return to your left atrium.

Changes in the cells (Changes in the cells of the heart muscle)

Heart muscle cells seem chaotic and irregular (disarray) under a microscope, rather than being structured and parallel. This disorder may cause alterations in the electrical signals passing through your heart's bottom chambers, leading to ventricular arrhythmia, a type of irregular heart rhythm [3].

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects between 600,000 and 1.5 million persons in the United States, or around 1 in 500 people. It affects 1 in 700 persons, making it more frequent than multiple sclerosis. This heart condition most commonly manifests around adolescence, however it can manifest at any age. Although pregnant women with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may require specialist treatment, such as echocardiography, the majority of them are able to carry their babies to term and deliver vaginally. If you're thinking about getting pregnant, talk to your doctor about the dangers. Your doctor can tell you which hypertrophic cardiomyopathy medications you can take during pregnancy. If you need a pacemaker or an Implanted Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) while pregnant, you may be able to get one.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be caused by a number of factors, including:

Genetics: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a condition that you can inherit from your parents and pass on to your offspring. This indicates that a gene that codes for the properties of the cardiac muscle is malfunctioning. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be caused by a variety of genes. The form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that occurs in a family when a gene abnormality is present varies widely. It's possible that some people with the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy gene will never acquire the disease [4].

• Blood pressure that is too high

• Aging

• The cause of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is sometimes unknown

Risk factors

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is frequently inherited from one's parents (inherited).If you have a parent who has hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, you have a 50% risk of inheriting the disease's genetic mutation. Parents, children, and siblings of people with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy should talk to their doctors about getting tested for the condition [5].

Complications

Many persons with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) have no noticeable symptoms. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, on the other hand, might result in the following complications:

• Atrial fibrillation is a condition in which the heart beats irregularly. Heart muscle thickening, as well as aberrant heart cell structure, can produce electrical system alterations in the heart, resulting in fast or irregular heartbeats. Atrial fibrillation can also increase your chance of blood clots traveling to your brain and causing a stroke.

• Blood flow is obstructed. Many patients experience shortness of breath with exertion, chest pain, dizziness, and fainting spells as a result of their thickening heart muscle blocking blood flow exiting the heart.

• Problems with the mitral valve. The valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle (mitral valve) may not close if the thickening heart muscle restricts blood flow leaving the heart.

• Dilated cardiomyopathy is a condition in which the heart is dilated. The thickened heart muscle in a small proportion of patients with HCM may become weak and ineffective. The ventricle enlarges (dilates), and its ability to pump becomes less powerful.

• Heart failure is a serious condition. The thickening heart muscle may eventually become too stiff to fill the heart with blood properly. As a result, your heart is unable to pump enough blood to fulfill the demands of your body.

Future Perspective

Sudden cardiac death is a type of sudden death. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can cause sudden death in people of all ages on rare occasions. Because many persons with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are unaware of their condition, sudden cardiac death may be the first indicator that something is wrong. It can happen to young people who appear to be in good condition, such as high school athletes and other young, active adults.

Conflict of Interest

The author declares that there is no conflict of interest associated with this manuscript.

REFERENCES

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