Re: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Posted By CCF Cardio MD-SGM on December 15, 1997 at 10:21:59:

In Reply to: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy posted by Barbara on October 10, 1997 at 13:24:49:







: I am 34 and was diagnosed with hypertrophic cm 2 years ago after delivering my 2nd child
My mother died at age 45 while waiting for a heart transplant - hypertrophic
cardiomyopathy.   My septum measurement has gone from 2.1 cm to .9 cm in 2
years.  Also the left ventricle has increased by 2 inches.  It sounds like
my heart is dilating, not thickening.  My mothers heart dilated also.
My cardilogist says that I have burnt out
hypertrophic cm.  My son who is 2 had an ekg and it revealed an abnormal
QRS wave - more voltage than normal.  His echo was normal, however, the dr
noted that the left ventricle was very prominant.  I feel fine, and currently
take coumadin and have recently started coreg.  My cardiologist is hoping
the coreg will help keep me healthier longer.  I have no symptoms - except for
pvc's, and otherwise find it hard to believe my heart is so damaged.
My questions are  1.  should I be concerned about my son's abnormal
ekg?  Is the QRS wave abnormality a sign of hcm?
2.  Should I be worried about my PVC's - are they a bad sign - do I need a defib. device?
3.  Is Coreg the drug for me (ef is 40%)  12.5 2X a day
4.  I have low BP 90/60  now 90/50 since coreg.  How low can a persons bp go
    before there is a danger of passing out.
5.  Is it normal for hcm to make a persons heart dilate?    
6.  My daughter who is 5 was also screened- ekg and echo normal.  Do I
    still need to be concerned about her developing hcm?
Thanks so much for your help
Barbara



__-
Please see response to question of 12/1/97.  Sorry for the delay
in answering.