Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a disease that affects the heart muscle, causing the muscle to enlarge, or "hypertrophy."
What Causes Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?
Hypertophic cardiomyopathy is known as "obstructive" if the septum (the wall between the two ventricles), becomes enlarged and obstructs the blood flow out of the left ventricle.
Non-obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy occurs when the enlarged heart muscle does not obstruct blood flow out of the heart.
Although it is not that common, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the single most common cause of sudden cardiac death in seemingly healthy young people. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is inherited in about two in 500 of the general population.
At Cleveland Clinic's Miller Family Heart & Vascular Institute, we have a special interest in treating Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM). Since 1978, we have treated hundreds of patients and the numbers are increasing each year.