Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is the most common genetic heart disease, occurring in one in 500 and affecting as many as 700,000 Americans. To a great extent, due to the work of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center at the Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, HCM has become a treatable disease with management strategies and options available for all disease complications.

Our center is preeminent among only a few such programs in the United States. We have achieved substantial advances in diagnosis with cardiac MRI, providing risk stratification effective in targeting those patients at greatest risk for sudden death. Gains have also been made in the prevention of sudden death with implantable defibrillators, as well as advancing and promoting relief of heart failure with surgical myectomy. As a result, HCM for many patients is compatible with normal longevity and life expectancy often without disability.

In the upcoming 2013 Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy International Summit V, directed by Dr. Maron, a world-renowned faculty will explore the diverse views on the natural history of HCM and the assessment of risk for sudden death.