UNDERSTANDING YOUR SYMPTOMATIC OBSTRUCTIVE HCM
Stephanie, a symptomatic obstructive HCM patient, was compensated for her time.
If you’ve been diagnosed with symptomatic obstructive HCM, it’s helpful to have a good understanding of your condition and speak with your doctor if you’re experiencing any new or worsening symptoms.
Obstructive HCM is the most common type of HCM—a condition that can affect the function of your heart.
HCM causes the heart muscle wall to thicken and stiffen, making it harder for the heart to fill with blood. When HCM causes the heart muscle to get so thick that it blocks or reduces blood flow from the heart to the rest of the body, it’s called obstructive HCM. Obstructive HCM is also referred to as HOCM (short for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy), and you may have heard this term in discussions with your doctor.
Obstructive HCM makes it difficult for the heart muscle to relax, so the heart must work harder and use more energy. When you have symptoms with obstructive HCM, it’s called symptomatic obstructive HCM. These symptoms can increase with physical exertion and worsen over time.
DID YOU KNOW
HCM is a heart disease that can be inherited, which means it may run in your family due to genetics. In fact, it’s estimated that HCM impacts between 1 in 200* and 1 in 500† people.
*The 2015 Semsarian publication identified that the prevalence of HCM could be as high as 1 in 200.
†The 1995 CARDIA study—a multicenter, US-population–based echocardiography study of 4111 subjects (aged 23-35) identified the prevalence of HCM as 1 in 500 in the general population.
A healthy heart
A heart with HCM
A heart with obstructive HCM
The majority of people with HCM have been diagnosed with obstructive HCM.