TYPES OF HEART DISEASE: HEART FAILURE DUE TO CARDIOMYOPATHY – HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY (OVERGROWTH OF HEART-MUSCLE)
Rick is a 35-year old teacher who has noticed the general development of breathlessness and chest heaviness during exertion. At first these symptoms were very vague, so he is not sure when they started, although he thinks they may have developed perhaps 2 years ago. Yesterday, he ran upstairs from his basement to answer the doorbell; when he reached the top of the stairs and opened the door, he almost passed out and had to lie down.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an overgrowth of heart muscle that can impair blood flow both into and out of the heart. This type of cardiomyopathy is less common than dilated cardiomyopathy, but it is not rare and has been the focus of much medical interest.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy results from abnormal thickening of the heart wall. The thickening can occur in several places throughout the ventricles. Most commonly it occurs in the septum between the two ventricles just beneath the aortic valve. The septum may be 1 1/2 or more times as thick as the outer wall of the heart. With a thicker muscle wall, the cavity of the ventricle may be smaller. Thus, the volume of blood in the ventricle may be normal or decreased.
This thicker wall is unable to stretch as well during the diastolic (filling) phase of the heartbeat, although contraction during systole is normal or even exaggerated.
*93\252\8*
Random Posts
0