Medical consultant, HCM patient, Plymouth, MA 02360, USA.
Patient author.
Future Cardiol. 2022 Jan;18(1):43-50. doi: 10.2217/fca-2021-0091. Epub 2021 Sep 17.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a complex disease characterized by thickening of the cardiac muscle. Common symptoms include chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, fatigue and syncope (fainting), which are often confused for other conditions. Clinical treatment focuses on the relief of symptoms with medical therapies, which provide adequate to more variable symptomatic relief. Patients may experience more severe complications that require surgical intervention, such as implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy or septal myectomy. Despite the potential impact on quality of life, the humanistic burden of HCM is not well established. Here, we present four patient testimonials that highlight challenges faced by patients and clinicians in diagnosing HCM and managing symptoms. These testimonials provide valuable information on the spectrum and expression of HCM across generations. Such testimonials can better inform disease diagnosis and monitoring, maximizing quality of life and improving disease outcome.
肥厚型心肌病（HCM）是一种以心肌肥厚为特征的复杂疾病。常见症状包括胸痛、呼吸急促、心悸、疲劳和晕厥（昏倒），这些症状常与其他疾病混淆。临床治疗侧重于通过药物治疗来缓解症状，这些治疗方法可提供充分至更可变的症状缓解。患者可能会出现更严重的并发症，需要手术干预，如植入式心脏复律除颤器治疗或室间隔心肌切除术。尽管 HCM 对生活质量有潜在影响，但 HCM 的人文负担尚未得到充分确立。在这里，我们呈现了四个患者的亲身体验，突出了诊断 HCM 和管理症状方面患者和临床医生所面临的挑战。这些亲身体验提供了有关 HCM 在各世代的表现和表达的宝贵信息。此类亲身体验可以更好地为疾病诊断和监测提供信息，最大限度地提高生活质量并改善疾病结局。
