​​​​​The symptoms and impact of the heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) can vary from one person to another. So naturally, the diagnosis and treatments vary, as well. Ankit Bhatia, MD​, a cardiologist with The Christ Hospital Health Network and Co-Director, along with Wojciech Mazure, MD, of the region’s only clinic to be designated as an HCM Center of Excellence, shares more about the disease, who is at risk, when to be screened, and advancements in treatment.

Ankit Bhatia, MD – All about HCM in his own words:

Hi, my name is Ankit Bhatia. I'm an advanced heart failure and transplant cardiologist at the Christ Hospital in Cincinnati, OH. I also am Co-Director of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center of Excellence here.

What is Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy?

So what is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? This is the most common inherited heart disease in the U.S.

What it is, is an abnormal thickening of the heart tissue and this is genetically mediated, meaning it runs in families and what it can lead to is a myriad of symptoms and it's different pretty much with everyone. No one has the same symptoms as other people and what it can lead to is worsening shortness of breath, dizziness, or lightheadedness, feeling like you need to faint, and in the most severe circumstances, dying suddenly in life threatening rhythm abnormalities.

So, we know it's a genetically mediated or it runs in families. So, it's really important if this is a condition that does run your family that everybody gets screened for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that involves an echocardiogram every couple of years.

In addition to that, if you're experiencing these symptoms, shortness of breath, dizziness, or lightheadedness, feeling like you're fainting or chest pain, it's important that you see your doctor and get evaluated for this condition as well.

This is a condition where people who have it live just as long as people who do not have hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, but it needs to be recognized. There is a rare but notable risk of sudden death, especially in younger patients without the diagnosis. So, I’m really passionate about getting the word out about this condition so we can screen significantly and treat everyone at the time of their diagnosis.

Who is at risk for HCM?

So, we may think that heart disease is just something that just effects people as they get older. But with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, this is a genetically inherited condition that is oftentimes diagnosed in patients in their twenties, thirties, forties, and maybe even earlier.

It’s estimated that there's about 1.3 million people in the US living with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. That's between one in two hundred, and one in five hundred individuals based on our estimates here.

Specifically, it’s common regardless of your racial or ethnic background, and it's commonly underdiagnosed, especially in populations of color, including African American and Hispanic communities, where it's thought that only about 1 percent of people that have that condition are treated for it.

It's important to note that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a chronic condition. It won't go away. Even if you feel like you don't have symptoms, there are life-saving treatments and treatments that can help you feel better that can be started pretty early on.

It's important to be screened early and often and established with a care team, including at our Center of Excellence.

Expanding treatments for HCM

So, treatments for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have expanded considerably in the last several years. For a long time, all that we had were conventional medications, including beta blockers. But now within the last two to three years, there are newer medications including myosin inhibitors that have become approved and are changing the way that we treat this condition, and patients are feeling much better with much improved symptoms on these medications.

In addition to that, there are surgical options and interventional cardiology options to help treat these conditions, specifically amongst patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that have obstruction.

This is a different disease state than it was even five years ago, and we're blessed not only with these newer medications, but with access to world class clinical trials here at the Christ Hospital, which once again we expect to have major innovations and developments in this field in the coming years.

Greater Cincinnati’s only HCM Center of Excellence

We're fortunate at the Christ Hospital to be a Center of Excellence certified by the Hypertrophy Cardiomyopathy National Association. This makes us one of two programs in the state of Ohio besides Cleveland Clinic and one of only fifty programs in the country.

What Center of Excellence mean is that we've proven that we can both treat and serve our patients at the highest level, and it also provides us with access to top tier clinical trials and top tier research studies and access to communities and to networks that we otherwise wouldn't have.

This is a game changer in the treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, and I encourage anyone who has the diagnosis to be seen and treated at a Center of Excellence to ensure that you would have the best care possible.

This is the comprehensive center that provides access to the whole spectrum of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy care. One of the things I've enjoyed most about taking care of patients in this hypertrophic cardiomyopathy clinic has been treating families. There's multi generations from grandfathers to parents to children and you get to know so much about the family and their symptoms and their lives.

And these patients become your family too, so it's been wonderful the interconnectedness of this community and, that's really just made this joy, this job that much more enjoyable.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is my passion as a cardiologist, and it has been a great joy taking care of patients. I look forward to doing it more.​​