Hello and welcome to the zero to finals podcast. My name is Tom and in this episode I'm going to be

talking to you about hypertrophic, obstructive cardiomyopathy. And you can find written notes on this topic

at zero to finals.com slash hoccm or in the cardiology section of the second edition of the

zero to finals medicine book so let's get straight into it cardiomyopathy refers to disorders of the

heart muscle cardio refers to the heart myo refers to disorders of the heart muscle. Cardio refers to the heart,

myo refers to muscle, and pathy refers to disorders or disease.

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy shortened to Hocum or H-O-C-M

is a condition where the left ventricle becomes hypertrophic

with thickening of the muscle. This tends to asymmetrically affect the septum of the heart,

bulging into the left ventricle, blocking the flow of blood out of the left ventricle.

This is referred to as left ventricular outflow tract, or LVOT, obstruction.

Hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is associated with an increased risk of heart failure,

myocardial infarction, arithmiasas, particularly atrial fibrillation and ventricular

arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Arithmias and sudden death often occur during exertion

when there's increased demand on the heart. It's a notable cause of sudden cardiac death in young people, including high-performing

athletes.

Hocom is an autosomal dominant genetic condition resulting from a defect in the genes for sarcomere

proteins.

It occurs in about one in 500 people.

Let's talk about the presentation. Most patients are asymptomatic, meaning they have no symptoms at all.

Patients can present with non-specific symptoms, and these may come on during exertion.

And these include shortness of breath, fatigue, dizziness, syncope, which is a loss of consciousness,

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