OHCM, also known as Hypertrophic-Dynamic Subaortic Stenosis, is a serious heart disease that requires highly complex treatment.
This pathology is characterized by an increase in the thickness of the ventricular walls and, derived from the obstruction produced, a hemodynamic alteration.
What is the origin of Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy?
This cardiopathy can appear in isolation and have a progressive character. It can also be caused by genetic transmission.
What is the medical treatment?
The severity of the obstruction produced is related to severe cardiac diseases, such as:
- Malignant arrhythmias
- Heart failure
- Acute pulmonary edema
- Sudden death
Treatment is based on the administration of drugs that help to reduce the contractile power of the heart, but in very few cases do they manage to significantly reduce the subaortic obstruction.
Surgery has achieved important advances, which seek to reduce the obstruction with two options:
- Resecting part of the hypertrophic septum (myectomy).
- Cutting the septum to prevent contraction of the treated area (myotomy).
In both cases these are palliative measures.
Latest advances
In the last two decades, a very original and effective percutaneous method has been discovered as a palliative treatment. It involves creating a myocardial infarction in the area of the intraventricular septum that produces the dynamic obstruction. This does not contract, so that, if it is located in the septum, the degree of obstruction is reduced and the mitral insufficiency can even disappear or diminish. For optimal treatment it is vital to be very precise.
When the patient is discharged, it is customary to see immediate clinical improvement.
For more information on the treatment of Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy, contact a specialist in Cardiology.