As many as 500,000 people in the United States have a heritable and potentially fatal heart disease called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
The disease can cause irregular heartbeats, heart valve problems, heart failure and, in rare cases, sudden cardiac death in young people. But some people who carry gene mutations that cause hypertrophic cardiomyopathy never experience symptoms.
A new study helps explain why. For the first time, researchers have found that, in addition to gene mutations, environmental stress plays a key role in development of the disease.
The study, led by senior author Sakthivel Sadayappan, PhD, MBA, of Loyola University Chicago Stritch School of Medicine, is published in the Journal of Molecular and Cellular Cardiology.
In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, the heart muscle becomes abnormally thick, making it harder for the heart to pump blood. The disease can cause irregular heartbeats such as atrial fibrillation; obstructed blood flow that can cause shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness and fainting spells; problems with the mitral valve; an enlarged ventricle (pumping chamber) that reduces the heart’s ability to pump blood; heart failure; and sudden cardiac death. It’s the leading cause of heart-related sudden death in people under age 30, including many athletes. For example, Boston Celtics basketball star Reggie Lewis died at age 27 after collapsing during a practice session.