How can you get hcm

They work together to personalize your treatment. Your Penn Medicine team may include experts in:. Inherited cardiac disease affects multiple generations. The Penn Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease provides comprehensive care for genetic heart conditions. The last thing Maurice remembers about that day was sipping from a bottle of Gatorade during a break in their fourth game. Without warning, he collapsed onto the court. Access myPennMedicine For Patients and Visitors. Patient Information.

Conditions Treated A-Z. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. What Is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy? HCM is usually caused by an inherited genetic variant familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. HCM can lead to many serious health conditions, such as: Atrial fibrillation , a type of arrhythmia that can cause blood clots Heart failure Stroke Ventricular arrhythmias that can cause a cardiac arrest It is a major cause of sudden cardiac death in people younger than Types of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy There are two main types of HCM: Obstructive: The most common type, hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy HOCM means the wall septum between the left ventricle and right ventricle thickens.

This can block obstruct blood flow from the left ventricle to the aorta the body's main artery. Nonobstructive: In nonobstructive HCM, the heart muscle thickens but doesn't block blood flow. Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Symptoms The signs and symptoms of HCM can vary widely, even among members of the same family.

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects an estimated 1 in people worldwide. It is the most common genetic heart disease in the United States. Other genes, including some that have not been identified, may also be involved in this condition. The proteins produced from the genes associated with familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy play important roles in contraction of the heart muscle by forming muscle cell structures called sarcomeres.

Sarcomeres, which are the basic units of muscle contraction, are made up of thick and thin protein filaments.

The overlapping thick and thin filaments attach to each other and release, which allows the filaments to move relative to one another so that muscles can contract. In the heart, regular contractions of cardiac muscle pump blood to the rest of the body. The protein produced from the MYBPC3 gene, cardiac myosin binding protein C, associates with the thick filament, providing structural support and helping to regulate muscle contractions. The TNNT2 and TNNI3 genes provide instructions for making cardiac troponin T and cardiac troponin I, respectively, which are two of the three proteins that make up the troponin protein complex found in cardiac muscle cells.

The troponin complex associates with the thin filament of sarcomeres. It controls muscle contraction and relaxation by regulating the interaction of the thick and thin filaments.

It is unknown how mutations in sarcomere-related genes lead to hypertrophy of the heart muscle and problems with heart rhythm. The mutations may result in an altered sarcomere protein or reduce the amount of the protein. An abnormality in or shortage of any one of these proteins may impair the function of the sarcomere, disrupting normal cardiac muscle contraction.

Research shows that, in affected individuals, contraction and relaxation of the heart muscle is abnormal, even before hypertrophy develops. However, it is not clear how these contraction problems are related to hypertrophy or the symptoms of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This condition is inherited in an autosomal dominant pattern , which means one copy of the altered gene in each cell is sufficient to cause the disorder. Rarely, both copies of the gene are altered, leading to more severe signs and symptoms.

Genetics Home Reference has merged with MedlinePlus. Learn more. Bonow RO, et al. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Saunders Elsevier; Maron MS. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Clinical manifestations, diagnosis, and evaluation. Riggin EA. Allscripts EPSi. Mayo Clinic. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Management of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death risk.

Accessed Aug. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy adult. Mayo Clinic; Dearani JA, et al. Surgery insight: Septal myectomy for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy — The Mayo Clinic experience. Nature Clinical Practice Cardiovascular Medicine. Accessed April 23, Kirklin JW, et al. Surgical relief of diffuse subvalvular aortic stenosis. Prevention and treatment of cardiomyopathy.

Basu J, et al. Exercise and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: Two incompatible entities? Clinical Cardiology. Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn.