SCREENING FOR HYPERTROPHIC CARDIOMYOPATHY

Posted , 3 users are following.

hi guys,

​does anybody know the best age to have an echocardiogram performed, to look for thickening of the heart?

​i know alot on the internet says through puberty it tends to be seen in most cases. I had a scan on my heart when i was 19. it showed normal size, structure etc.

​Just how likely is it that hcm would develop suddenly AFTER my pubertal spurt? I also recall having my puberty spurt quite young ( around 10/11 years old )

​I beg somebody can help me on this. I cant get this condition out of my head.

0 likes, 12 replies

12 Replies

  • Posted

    Is this a hereditary condition in your family? If so you would surely be getting monitored. If not it is unlikely to be anything for you to be worrying about.
    • Posted

      not that ive ever been aware of. gt grandad made it to 88/90ish, my grandad is now 65, my grandads brother is got to be 62/63, and his other brother died at 45/46 from heart attack ( i dont know why though, the reason for it, as i was 4/5 years old at the time ) , however i do know he supposedly had high BP and smoked, like a frequent drink. BUT, it has to start somewhere doesnt it!
    • Posted

      Only if you want it to:-)

      At 82 with my replacement aortic heart valve and a pacemaker I'm the oldest male in the four generations. Gt grandfather died at about 50. His son at 44 and my father at 63. One of my uncles was killed in an accident another with angina died during a endoscopy at 69 and the other from his fourth heart attack at 73.

      Perhaps I take after my mother who lived to 92 and beat colon and kidney cancer before breaking a hip.

    • Posted

      Jeez that quite some well doing. Well done mate, ur holding your ground.
    • Posted

      That's only a fraction of my death defying acts. Never give up. 
  • Posted

    Has someone in your family been diagnosed with hocm and you need to be screened? If it's in your family you have a 50% chance of having it. Your born with this condition and over time it gets worse.
    • Posted

      hi, no not that im aware of. I only have one suspicious death in the family, being my grandads brother! he was mid 40's and had a heart attack, was taking warfarin already but not sure why. shortly after that, my grandad was seen by family doctor and his words were " we dont want you falling off your perch! heres some warfarin ".  otherwise everyone else seems to be doing ok. that being said, none are wannabe athletes or bodybuilders like me though! 

      i respect your usually born with it, but it has to start somewhere right

    • Posted

      It needs to be your mother or father for this to be genetic which Hocm is. My mother died suddenly at 70 so the doctors feel she probably had it. Two of her brothers were diagnosed with it.
    • Posted

      well both are still here so far! but like you say, in your case your mother made it to 70, which is very good if she did carry the gene for it. then i wouldnt know weather my parents have it as they havent even reached that age yet. i do know, i asked my mother to go for an ecg late last year, which her gp said was normal. she is 43. my father is 50. i dont know a whole lot about hocm, and by the sounds of it, your likely to know alot more then me, i thought this condition would strike you down before age 40 ( i think they say ), rarely does it not cause any problems until 50s or 60s
    • Posted

      I have had hypertension since my 30's and heart murmur diagnosed in my 40's. This heart disease really has only been treated in the last 20 years doctors didn't know what it was before that. Isn't science wonderful when my my died in 1985 they just said a massive heart attack not what caused it. Now it can be diagnosed and treatment to repair in my case or medication to slow the process down.
    • Posted

      mother or father pass it on if they have it. It's possible to have Hocm with no health or heart issues but not likely.

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