Screening athletes for undetected heart problems: What parents need to know now
Dr. Gian Corrado, a physician in Boston Children’s Hospital Sports Medicine, was an undergraduate playing pick-up basketball when one of his teammates died suddenly on the court. Unfortunately, the young player’s death is not an isolated tragedy.
Every three days, a young athlete somewhere in the U.S. collapses and dies due to an undetected heart problem.
“It’s uncommon,” Corrado says, “but it’s not SO uncommon that it may not touch you. It happens, and we have no effective, efficient way to screen for it.”
The National College Athletic Association’s chief medical officer has suggested it may be ...
Source: Thrive, Children's Hospital Boston - February 15, 2016 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Erin Horan Tags: Ask the Expert Health & Wellness In the News Parenting Teen Health Division of Sports Medicine Dr. Gianmichel Corrado Dr. John Triedman echocardiogram EKG screening Heart Center Source Type: news
Pioneering discovery leads to potential preventive treatment for sudden cardiac death
(University of Vermont) Roughly 15 years ago, a team of Vermont researchers discovered the precise malfunction of a specific protein in the heart that leads to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a common culprit in cases of sudden death in young athletes. A team of Harvard scientists and colleagues used some of these findings to develop a possible treatment to prevent this inherited disease that can cause the heart to thicken and stop pumping blood effectively, leading to heart failure. (Source: EurekAlert! - Biology)
Source: EurekAlert! - Biology - February 5, 2016 Category: Biology Source Type: news
[Report] A small-molecule inhibitor of sarcomere contractility suppresses hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in mice
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an inherited disease of heart muscle that can be caused by mutations in sarcomere proteins. Clinical diagnosis depends on an abnormal thickening of the heart, but the earliest signs of disease are hyperdynamic contraction and impaired relaxation. Whereas some in vitro studies of power generation by mutant and wild-type sarcomere proteins are consistent with mutant sarcomeres exhibiting enhanced contractile power, others are not. We identified a small molecule, MYK-461, that reduces contractility by decreasing the adenosine triphosphatase activity of the cardiac myosin heavy chain. Here ...
Source: ScienceNOW - February 5, 2016 Category: Science Authors: Eric M. Green Source Type: news
[Perspective] Throttling back the heart's molecular motor
A young athlete collapses and dies during competition. Autopsy reveals an enlarged heart with thickened walls in which the cardiac muscle cells are in disarray and surrounded by fibrotic tissue. Until 1990, the cause of such sudden death was unknown. This devastating condition, called familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), was eventually linked to a mutation in myosin (1), the heart's molecular motor. Today, more than 300 separate HCM-causing mutations have been identified throughout the myosin molecule. On page 617 of this issue, Green et al. (2) describe a small molecule that binds to myosin and inhibits its activit...
Source: ScienceNOW - February 5, 2016 Category: Science Authors: David M. Warshaw Tags: Heart Disease Source Type: news
Sir David Frost’s son Miles died from genetic heart condition
Miles Frost, 31, died last summer after collapsing while out jogging near the family's holiday home in Oxfordshire. But now it has come to light he died from hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. (Source: the Mail online | Health)
Source: the Mail online | Health - February 1, 2016 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Cardiac Findings in Infants of Diabetic Mothers
This article describes the history, potential causes, and pathophysiology of HCM and details a rational management plan for the treatment of these patients. (Source: NeoReviews recent issues)
Source: NeoReviews recent issues - November 2, 2015 Category: Pediatrics Authors: Yeh, J., Berger, S. Tags: Pediatric Drug Labeling Update Articles Source Type: news
Energy Impairment With Exercise in Hypertrophic CardiomyopathyEnergy Impairment With Exercise in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Find out how cardiac energetics are impaired during exercise in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. European Heart Journal (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - September 22, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cardiology Journal Article Source Type: news
Recent ESC guidelines to identify HCM patients at high risk for sudden death unreliable
(Elsevier Health Sciences) Recently, the European Society of Cardiology published new guidelines advancing an equation as the best way to determine which hypertrophic cardiomyopathy patients should receive an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator. However, a study conducted by US and Canadian investigators challenges the ESC Guidelines. Their research found that the ESC sudden death risk score method did not perform effectively in reliably identifying the high-risk patients who need ICDs for the prevention of sudden death. (Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science)
Source: EurekAlert! - Social and Behavioral Science - September 21, 2015 Category: Global & Universal Source Type: news
Endurance Sports May Affect Female, Male Hearts DifferentlyEndurance Sports May Affect Female, Male Hearts Differently
Unlike for their male counterparts, increased heart wall thickness is not common in female endurance athletes and may be a warning of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, say researchers. Heartwire from Medscape (Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines)
Source: Medscape Medical News Headlines - September 9, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cardiology News Source Type: news
Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Adults and CV MortalityHypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Adults and CV Mortality
Find out how current treatment strategies are changing the course of life for those with cardiomyopathy. Journal of the American College of Cardiology (Source: Medscape Today Headlines)
Source: Medscape Today Headlines - June 10, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Tags: Cardiology Journal Article Source Type: news
Mayo Clinic Launches Eight Genetic Testing Panels for Cardiac Disorders
ROCHESTER, Minn. — Mayo Clinic’s launch of eight new next-generation sequencing (NGS) panels is intended to improve the lives of patients and families living with inherited cardiac conditions by aiding in the diagnosis and management of these complex disorders. These disorders include hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, dilated cardiomyopathy, arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy, Noonan syndrome, Marfan syndrome, long [...] (Source: Mayo Clinic Rochester News)
Source: Mayo Clinic Rochester News - April 8, 2015 Category: Hospital Management Source Type: news
Brigham and Women’s Hospital to pilot post-discharge app with heart patients
Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston will pilot iGetBetter’s apps to reduce hospital readmissions through remote patient monitoring and post-discharge patient engagement. The pilot will target patients that have heart disease, specifically those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). “There is a great need for innovative approaches to relieve symptoms for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy,” Dr. Neal Lakdawala, a BWH physician […] (Source: mobihealthnews)
Source: mobihealthnews - April 7, 2015 Category: Information Technology Authors: Aditi Pai Tags: Uncategorized app-based care plans blood pressure cuff Brigham and Women's hospital readmissions hypertrophic cardiomyopathy iGetBetter patient engagement remote patient monitoring Withings Source Type: news
Better Treatments Helping People with Enlarged Hearts Live Longer: Study
People with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are benefiting from defibrillators, other advances
Source: HealthDay
Related MedlinePlus Pages: Cardiomyopathy, Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators (Source: MedlinePlus Health News)
Source: MedlinePlus Health News - March 16, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Better Treatments Helping People with Enlarged Hearts Live Longer
People with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are benefiting from defibrillators, other advances
Source: HealthDay
Related MedlinePlus Pages: Cardiomyopathy, Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators (Source: MedlinePlus Health News)
Source: MedlinePlus Health News - March 14, 2015 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news
Keeping the heart's engine in sync: Study shows contractions rely on critical protein for efficient function
A remarkable protein that helps choreograph the highly specific series of events that ensure the heart beats consistently and accurately has been discovered by researchers. Called myosin-binding protein C (cMyBP-C), this protein performs its masterpiece inside the sarcomere, a part of the heart muscle tissue that is one-fiftieth the diameter of a human hair. Trillions or more sarcomeres must contract simultaneously in order for the heart to maintain its beat. Problems with this protein can cause sudden death via a condition called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. (Source: ScienceDaily Headlines)
Source: ScienceDaily Headlines - February 20, 2015 Category: Science Source Type: news
