My husband was diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy just this past May when he was hospitalized because of his 'extraordinary' EKG. They did 2 EKG's, echo and heart cath. I quote the impressions of those two tests as follows:
Echo - 1.Severe concentric left ventricular hypertophy with hyperdynamic left ventricle; ejection fraction 65%. Findings consistent with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, as the patient does not have a history of hypertension. (2) Evidence of diastolic dysfunction. (3) Mild tricuspid regurgitation. (4) Mild pulmonic regurgitation. (Note: left atrium measures 3.8 cm)
Cath - Left ventriculogram performed in the RAO 30 position revealed severe concentric left ventricular hypertroophy with spade shaped left ventricle. No mitral regugitation was noted.
Normal coronary arteries. LV gram and hemodynamic findings consistent with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with mild obstruction.
He does have symptoms regularly of chest pain, extreme fatigue and a chronic cough. He currently takes an aspirin daily, and 50mg of Metoprolol. His blood pressure is consistently on the low side. He hasn't seen any improvement on this medication.
From what I have read on the subject, most hypertrophy cases deal with thickening of the septum and his septum measurement is 1.4 cm - which is in the normal range. Are we perhaps looking at dilated cardiomyopathy here? Would he be a candidate for any type of surgery? Just how 'severe' is his hypertrophy?
I would appreciate your insight....by the way, this forum is wonderful!
Thank you
Karl