Patient care - HCM Clinic

What is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic cardiovascular disease. It affects both men and women.
• It is a complex cardiac disease marked by abnormal thickening of the heart muscle.
• Because HCM is a genetic disease it doesn't affect everyone the same way.
• Patients may have no symptoms to congestive heart failure, shortness of breath, exercise intolerance, chest pressure or pain, fainting, stroke and even sudden cardiac death.
• In fact, HCM is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in the young athlete.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is a disease of the myocardium (the muscle of the heart) in which a portion of the myocardium is hypertrophied (thickened) without any obvious cause. Though perhaps most famous as a leading cause of sudden cardiac death in young athletes, HCM's more important significance is as a cause of sudden unexpected cardiac death in any age group and as a cause of disabling cardiac symptoms.