Surgery ups survival with common heart ailment

People with an enlargement of the heart walls that obstructs the flow of blood can expect to live longer after undergoing a surgical procedure to ease the condition, a study shows.

The disorder - hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) - is a leading cause of sudden death in young people. However, after the operation their risk of dying is pretty much in line with that of the general population, according to the newly reported findings.

HCM affects more than 500,000 Americans, so it's actually more common than better-known conditions such as Crohn's Disease or multiple sclerosis. HCM involves a thickening of the heart muscle walls, particularly the wall (or septum) that separates the two main pumping chambers.

That thickening can affect blood flow into and out of the heart, which may lead to symptoms such as shortness of breath, chest pain, dizziness, palpitations, or fainting after exertion. HCM can cause sudden death by sending the heart into a dangerous electrical rhythm and is the most common cause of death during athletic competition.

The primary cause of HCM seems to be genetic. About half of affected patients have a close relative with the disease.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Definition

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a form of cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle) involving thickening of the heart muscle. This interferes with the function of the heart.

Treatments may include medications such as beta-blockers to slow the heart's contractions, and placement of an internal defibrillator to shock the heart back into normal rhythm. For patients with severe blood-flow obstruction whose symptoms don't respond to medications, a surgical procedure - myectomy - which removes a portion of the thickened muscle wall, provides excellent symptom relief.

"The improvement in symptoms for myectomy patients has been well documented," said Dr. Steve R. Ommen, a cardiologist at the Rochester, Minnesota-based Mayo Clinic College of Medicine, who led the current study. But "until now, we didn't know whether feeling better translated into living longer."

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy Causes, incidence, and risk factors

In this condition, heart muscle becomes too thick to function properly. The thickening is often not symetrical, affecting one part of the heart more than others. It may interfere with the functioning of the heart by reducing the size of the ventricular chamber. It may also reduce the ability of the valves to work properly. The thickening of the heart muscle may, in some circumstances, obstruct the flow of blood out of the heart.