Why heart contractions are weaker in those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

(McGill University) Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common genetic heart disease in the US and affects an estimated 1 in 500 people around the world. A protein called myosin acts as the molecular motor which makes the muscles in the heart contract. An international team has discovered that in transgenic rabbits with the R403Q mutation,, individual myosin molecules and myofibrils (the basic rod-like filaments inside muscles) produce less force and a lower maximum velocity of contraction than those isolated from healthy hearts.
Source: EurekAlert! - Medicine and Health - Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news