It is a fact that a Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy can take a life of a family member or even the whole family. It is a possible life threatening heart condition that is within your genes. It could be a part of your life since birth and may take your life and even all your family members. Lisa Salberg is very much aware of this condition, since she was diagnosed with it when she was just 12 years of age. She knew about this that early when a school doctor detected a heart mumble from her.

Did you know that when she reached the age of 21, just 3 weeks after her wedding, she had stroke?  Now that she is already 44 years of age, she has a cardiac defibrillator in her chest and this was implanted to keep track and regulate her heart beat. She has been an active member of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association since 1996 and this became her support group. She knew she needs to understand more about her own heart condition and know more about how she can save her life and the lives of her kids too.

Facts you should know

At present, 1 in every 500 Americans suffers from HCM, but they are not aware of it. This condition is about the muscle of the heart that is becoming thick and it restricts the blood flow. It may be undiagnosed for years, since it doesn’t have any signs at all though some may experience shortness of breath, arrhythmias, irregular heart rhythms and chest pain too. But these may be mistaken for other health conditions though.   But, according to Dr. Paul Pagley, not everyone suffers from arrhythmias and not everyone may experience a heart failure.

There are certain degrees of signs and if there are no visible signs yet during your younger years, it may remain undiagnosed. It will be hard to tell how the ailment is progressing thru the years. HCM is a very common cause of cardiac arrest in young individuals according to the American Heart Association or HCM and that may include young ones, regardless if you are an athlete or not. This is the primary reason why they are now screening athletes or those who would like to join the athletics for heart ailments, since this condition is now becoming common and it may be progressive without your knowledge until you suffer from fatality due to cardiac arrest.

Essential things about the heart

Do you know that in America these days around 150,000 Americans die from cardiac arrest every year and 10% of them are less than 40 years old? HCM record is mostly gathered to people who are under 20 years of age, since the heart has developed well enough to show abnormalities that may be detected by ECG. This is a simple yet effective test that will show the images of the heart thru ultrasound waves. It’s best to diagnose the ailment early on, especially for people with history of HCM. Kids with parents having HCM may have 50% chances of inheriting the said condition as well.