HCM MANAGEMENT
ANCHOR LEAD: SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH FOR THOSE WITH HCM CAN USUALLY BE PREVENTED, ELIZABETH TRACEY REPORTS
Italy has been doing it for years- screening all young athletes for HCM, or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a condition that can result in sudden death. Now Ted Abraham, a cardiologist at Johns Hopkins, is spearheading such an effort here, with an eye toward saving lives for folks with HCM.
ABRAHAM: In general the prognosis is very good, so most folks the disease itself, that is HCM in particular will not affect longevity. So most will live their entire lives in a relatively productive fashion as long as medical treatment or surgical treatment or a defibrillator are placed at appropriate time points. In a minority of cases they might have significant symptoms that might need open heart surgery, or other procedures, and in a smaller minority, less than 10% of the cases they may develop heart failure and might even need a heart transplant. :32
Abraham says an expert consult is key. I’m Elizabeth Tracey reporting.
