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Dr. Andrew Rynne
MD
Dr. Andrew Rynne

Family Physician

Exp 50 years

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What Causes Difficulty In Breathing And Fainting Spells In A HCM Patient?

Hello. My friend has HCM and he sometimes goes through fits on. Skype where he shakes and has a hard time breathing. I know I can t really do much here but oftentimes he starts to pass out and for safety reasons I d like to try to keep him awake so he can t fall and injure himself. Any advice? Also advice not regarding the specific fainting topic (but just him experiencing any problems caused by HCM) is needed. Thank you!
Mon, 25 Apr 2016
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General & Family Physician,  's  Response
Hi & Welcome to HCM.
I can understand your concern for your beloved friend.
The symptoms are due to reduced blood supply to lungs and brain.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a disease in which the heart muscle (myocardium) becomes abnormally thick (hypertrophied). The thickened heart muscle can make it harder for the heart to pump blood. Therefore the obstructed or reduced blood flow can cause shortness of breath with exertion, chest pain, dizziness and fainting spells.
He needs to be properly evaluated by a cardiologist. He needs to take medications like beta blockers (such as Metoprolol or Atenolol) to relax the heart muscle and to slow the heart rate so that the heart can pump more efficiently And or Calcium channel blockers such as or Diltiazem to control his heart rhythm. These medications will prevent both the breathing problem as well as fainting spells.
He may also need blood thinners like Warfarin or Dabigatran to reduce the risk of blood clots.
Hope the advice given would be useful to him in getting the right treatment.
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What Causes Difficulty In Breathing And Fainting Spells In A HCM Patient?

Hi & Welcome to HCM. I can understand your concern for your beloved friend. The symptoms are due to reduced blood supply to lungs and brain. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a disease in which the heart muscle (myocardium) becomes abnormally thick (hypertrophied). The thickened heart muscle can make it harder for the heart to pump blood. Therefore the obstructed or reduced blood flow can cause shortness of breath with exertion, chest pain, dizziness and fainting spells. He needs to be properly evaluated by a cardiologist. He needs to take medications like beta blockers (such as Metoprolol or Atenolol) to relax the heart muscle and to slow the heart rate so that the heart can pump more efficiently And or Calcium channel blockers such as or Diltiazem to control his heart rhythm. These medications will prevent both the breathing problem as well as fainting spells. He may also need blood thinners like Warfarin or Dabigatran to reduce the risk of blood clots. Hope the advice given would be useful to him in getting the right treatment.