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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
IHSS
This forum is for questions and support regarding heart issues such as: Angina, Angioplasty, Arrhythmia, Bypass Surgery, Cardiomyopathy, Coronary Artery Disease, Defibrillator, Heart Attack, Heart Disease, High Blood Pressure, Mitral Valve, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests
IHSS
by Jill, Nov 07, 1999 12:00AM
My father is having surgery next month for IHSS and we have been looking for some support groups that we can contact. Also if there is anyone that has had the surgery and is willing to speak to us. We want to here successful cases only please, and from people that had it done at the Cleveland Clinic. Please contact me at ***@**** Thank you for your time.
Doctor's Answer
by CCF CARDIO MD - CRC, Nov 08, 1999 12:00AM
IHSS (Idiopathic Hypertrophic Subaortic Stenosis), now commonly referred to as HOCM (Hypertrophic Obstructive CardioMyopathy), is a congenital (meaning that it runs in families) condition that results in thickening of the heart muscle (hypertrophy), a increased pressure gradient (obstruction) across the outflow tract and a cardiomyopathy (abnormal function of the heart muscle).
Symptoms of HOCM include shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fainting and chest pain. Some patients experience cardiac rhythm disturbances which in some cases may lead to sudden death. Due to this possibility patients with this condition are advised to avoid competitive sports (normal activity levels are OK). The obstruction to blood flow from the left ventricle increases the work the ventricle must do, and a heart murmur may be heard.
The treatment of HOCM may be several fold. Medications, such as beta blockers and calcium channel blockers, are often given to attempt to decrease the workload of the heart. Surgery may be recommended in patients with very high pressure gradients in the heart. In a septal myectomy he surgeon goes into the heart and removes part of the muscle that is obstructing the blood outflow. A alternative procedure that is being developed here and at several other centers that avoids the need for surgery. A catheter (tiny tube) is threaded through the leg to the heart and the blood vessels that supply the thickened heart muscle are identified and then closed off with a solution of alcohol. This results in a thinning of that particular area of the heart. Not all patients are eligible for this procedure and there are benefits and risks to both procedures.
Additional web sites with information about HOCM are listed below.
http://www.americanheart.org/Heart_and_Stroke_A_Z_Guide/cmyopa.html
HOCM Support group
http://www.kanter.com/hcm/
National Organization for rare diseases
http://www.rarediseases.org/
HOCM of Canada
http://www.cadvision.com/hcmac/hcmac.html
Mayo Clinic HOCM Clinic
http://www.mayo.edu/cv/wwwpg_cv/hocm_cln/hocm.htm
Article on septal ablation
http://www-east.elsevier.com/jac/3102/jac5431fla.htm
More info
http://www.arrhythmia.com/patient/other/HCM.html
Symptoms of HOCM include shortness of breath, lightheadedness, fainting and chest pain. Some patients experience cardiac rhythm disturbances which in some cases may lead to sudden death. Due to this possibility patients with this condition are advised to avoid competitive sports (normal activity levels are OK). The obstruction to blood flow from the left ventricle increases the work the ventricle must do, and a heart murmur may be heard.
The treatment of HOCM may be several fold. Medications, such as beta blockers and calcium channel blockers, are often given to attempt to decrease the workload of the heart. Surgery may be recommended in patients with very high pressure gradients in the heart. In a septal myectomy he surgeon goes into the heart and removes part of the muscle that is obstructing the blood outflow. A alternative procedure that is being developed here and at several other centers that avoids the need for surgery. A catheter (tiny tube) is threaded through the leg to the heart and the blood vessels that supply the thickened heart muscle are identified and then closed off with a solution of alcohol. This results in a thinning of that particular area of the heart. Not all patients are eligible for this procedure and there are benefits and risks to both procedures.
Additional web sites with information about HOCM are listed below.
http://www.americanheart.org/Heart_and_Stroke_A_Z_Guide/cmyopa.html
HOCM Support group
http://www.kanter.com/hcm/
National Organization for rare diseases
http://www.rarediseases.org/
HOCM of Canada
http://www.cadvision.com/hcmac/hcmac.html
Mayo Clinic HOCM Clinic
http://www.mayo.edu/cv/wwwpg_cv/hocm_cln/hocm.htm
Article on septal ablation
http://www-east.elsevier.com/jac/3102/jac5431fla.htm
More info
http://www.arrhythmia.com/patient/other/HCM.html
http://www3.bravenet.com/forum/show.asp?userid=qf175386
Dolly