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Heart Disease (Expert Forum)
hcm
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hcm
by almost, Jan 30, 2003 12:00AM
last summer my son was diagnosed with lvh. he went 2 weeks ago to nemc hcm clinic 2 weeks ago and they said no regression had acurred and said it was hcm. so i have some questions that i can't seem to find on the web. oh it's non obstuctive hcm.
they are sending him for a stress test to see what his sudden death % is. they said it's 4 hours. what kind of test is it?
they told him he can probably live a normal life and could play sports just not cometitive. so does this mean he can play in a softball league?
they told him that he will see no regression but every web site i goto says that new drugs are helping cause some. who's right?
my dr told me that his echo showed no change from last summer so he might have peaked as many do around 26 so he may not get any worse. yeah is thst true?
twice last summer he was overnight in the hospital after a week of constant shortness of breath. all the test showed nothing so they said it was panis attacks and put him on paxil. the shortness stopped but i think thats weird how about you?
they are sending him for a stress test to see what his sudden death % is. they said it's 4 hours. what kind of test is it?
they told him he can probably live a normal life and could play sports just not cometitive. so does this mean he can play in a softball league?
they told him that he will see no regression but every web site i goto says that new drugs are helping cause some. who's right?
my dr told me that his echo showed no change from last summer so he might have peaked as many do around 26 so he may not get any worse. yeah is thst true?
twice last summer he was overnight in the hospital after a week of constant shortness of breath. all the test showed nothing so they said it was panis attacks and put him on paxil. the shortness stopped but i think thats weird how about you?
Doctor's Answer
by CCF-M.D.-KE, Feb 01, 2003 12:00AM
Dear Almost,
Sorry to hear about your son's cardiac problems. You should make sure that Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is what your son has. Could this be an athelete's heart? Does your son have hypertension. I would first recommend getting a second opinion at a large university based medical center in an effort to be certain of the diagnosis.
The stress test your son is going to have will allow the doctors to gain critical information on his ability to exercise. The stress test consists of running on treadmill where his heart rate and blood pressure will be closely monitored. This will provide critical information on his blood pressure response to exercise, which may help doctors in prescribing an exercise regimen.
If HOCM is the final diagnosis, he should not participate in competitive sports. However, I think that your son and his doctors should come up with an exercise program they both agree is safe. Without having more information and speaking with your son directly, it is difficult for me to make any specific recommendations. Again, through a partnership with his caregivers I think a reasonable exercise regimen can be found.
I doubt you will see very much regression if HOCM is what he has. Though many of the symptoms associated with HOCM may be controlled with beta blockers and calcium channel blockers. If is LVH is from another cause such as hypertension or an athelete's heart, then it may be more likely for regression to take place, especially with the above medications. In familial HOCM the LVH can develop in infancy and childhood but typically develops during the pubertal growth spurt. It is possible that the degree of LVH may have peaked. However, the development of hypertension could further worsen the LVH. Therefore, close follow-up with your doctors along with some of the medications mentioned earlier will help to control the progression of the disease.
Maybe the cardiac findings were not contributing as much to his shortness of breath as previously thought. It is possible that after starting the paxil he concentrated less on his breathing. I don't think the paxil had a significant effect on heart. Hope this helps answer your questions.
Thanks for your questions,
CCF-MD-KE
Sorry to hear about your son's cardiac problems. You should make sure that Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is what your son has. Could this be an athelete's heart? Does your son have hypertension. I would first recommend getting a second opinion at a large university based medical center in an effort to be certain of the diagnosis.
The stress test your son is going to have will allow the doctors to gain critical information on his ability to exercise. The stress test consists of running on treadmill where his heart rate and blood pressure will be closely monitored. This will provide critical information on his blood pressure response to exercise, which may help doctors in prescribing an exercise regimen.
If HOCM is the final diagnosis, he should not participate in competitive sports. However, I think that your son and his doctors should come up with an exercise program they both agree is safe. Without having more information and speaking with your son directly, it is difficult for me to make any specific recommendations. Again, through a partnership with his caregivers I think a reasonable exercise regimen can be found.
I doubt you will see very much regression if HOCM is what he has. Though many of the symptoms associated with HOCM may be controlled with beta blockers and calcium channel blockers. If is LVH is from another cause such as hypertension or an athelete's heart, then it may be more likely for regression to take place, especially with the above medications. In familial HOCM the LVH can develop in infancy and childhood but typically develops during the pubertal growth spurt. It is possible that the degree of LVH may have peaked. However, the development of hypertension could further worsen the LVH. Therefore, close follow-up with your doctors along with some of the medications mentioned earlier will help to control the progression of the disease.
Maybe the cardiac findings were not contributing as much to his shortness of breath as previously thought. It is possible that after starting the paxil he concentrated less on his breathing. I don't think the paxil had a significant effect on heart. Hope this helps answer your questions.
Thanks for your questions,
CCF-MD-KE
when you had them for days at a time did they let up at all?
i had them for a year and they kept blaming my heart . finally someone got it right but as many as i would have at a time there was always a period inbetween when they would stop. his didn't thats 1 of my concerns.
thanks
i'm curious though about the lvh part. i just assumed that when they said he had hcm i thought that meant in place of lvh. do people have both?
thanks
thank you