Member Comments are provided by individuals and reflect their personal opinions only. Under NO circumstances should you act on any advice or opinion posted in this forum. ALWAYS check with your personal physician before taking any action regarding your health! MedHelp International and our partners, sponsors and affiliates have no obligation to monitor any comments posted on this site, or the content and/or accuracy of such exchanges. MedHelp International does not endorse the views of any user.
Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
New Alchohol Surgery
Answered by
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 Prolapse, Pacemaker, PAD, Stenosis, Stress Tests.
New Alchohol Surgery
by Mike Obremski, Oct 01, 1999 12:00AM
Recently i have heard about a new procedure for Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomypathy. I would like to know how long is anticipated until this procedure becomes available and is not a study. Also being an athlete i have heard of some cases where people have been able to go back to what they previously did and were not on extremly limited activity. i would like to know if this is true and if this is a possible surgery for an 18 year old man. thank u
Doctor's Answer
by Cleveland Clinic, MD, Oct 01, 1999 12:00AM
, Oct 01, 1999 12:00AMDear Mike,
The procedure you are referring to is called septal ablation. 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 the procedure. It is still currently experimental and I couldn't tell you when it will be considered "standard care".
Other treatments include medicines 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 the surgeon goes into the heart and removes part of the muscle that is obstructing the blood outflow.
If you are not already seeing a specialist in HOCM I would recommend you seek one out. Dr. Harry Lever here is a world expert in this condition and I would highly recommend him if you wish to come to Cleveland.
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
I hope you find this information useful. Information provided in the heart forum is for general purposes only. Only your physician can provide specific diagnoses and therapies. Please feel free to write back with additional questions.
If you would like to make an appointment at the Cleveland Clinic Heart Center, please call 1-800-CCF-CARE or inquire online by using the Heart Center website at www.ccf.org/heartcenter. The Heart Center website contains a directory of the cardiology staff that can be used to select the physician best suited to address your cardiac problem.
