What is it about?
In apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a familial heart muscle disease with a thicker tip of the heart, chest pain is a common symptom but the mechanism is not fully understood. Excessive and prolonged contraction of the heart in apical cardiomyopathy was found to be linked to reduced blood flow to the heart muscle. Reduced blood flow to the heart is a known cause of chest pain. Thus, paradoxically, the strong contraction of the heart in apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy may be contributing to the development of chest pain.
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Why is it important?
Understanding mechanisms of symptoms help target treatment to tackle these symptoms. Treatments that reduce the stronger and prolonged contraction in the heart may thus relieve chest pains in apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients.
Perspectives
I believe that this study is really exciting in showing the link between the heart contraction, blood flow to the heart muscle and symptoms of chest pains in patients with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Future studies need to address the question whether interventions can work to relieve symptoms based on this study's findings.
Professor Steffen E Petersen
Queen Mary University of London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: Ineffective and prolonged apical contraction is associated with chest pain and ischaemia in apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, International Journal of Cardiology, January 2018, Elsevier,
DOI: 10.1016/j.ijcard.2017.09.206.
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