Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Care

Turn to Spectrum Health for nationally recognized hyperopic cardiomyopathy care. You and your family benefit from our comprehensive approach to diagnosis, education and treatment.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, or HCM, is a heart disease that makes your heart muscle thicker than usual. It often affects the lower chambers (ventricles) of your heart. HCM can make it harder for your heart to pump blood.

The Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association recognizes Spectrum Health as a Center of Excellence. You’ll get the most effective care because our program offers:

• Physicians with training and experience diagnosing and treating HCM
• High-quality cardiovascular imaging services
• Support services to help you live well with HCM
• Ability to accommodate patients and families who live out of the area
• Commitment to growing our understanding of HCM and its treatment through research

Your HCM team will create a care plan to help your heart work better and reduce your symptoms. Rest assured you have access to a full range of tests and treatments at Spectrum Health, including: 

• Arrhythmia treatments, including cardiac ablation 
• Cardiovascular imaging and heart monitoring 
• Heart failure care, including ventricular assist device (VAD) and heart transplant surgery 
• Medications to improve symptoms and prevent complications 
• Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) to lower your risk of death from sudden cardiac arrest 
• Septal myectomy, a heart surgery to improve blood flow by removing excess tissue from your heart wall 
• Screenings for related conditions, such as high blood pressure, high cholesterol, diabetes and sleep apnea 

With regular care, most people with HCM can lead a relatively normal life.

Through clinical trials at Spectrum Health, you may gain access to new treatments not yet widely available. Browse our clinical trials or call 855.7.MYHEART to talk with our HCM specialty nurses.

HCM is usually caused by abnormal genes passed down through families. If you have HCM, there’s a good chance that a biological parent, sibling or child also has the disease. We encourage all family members to be screened for HCM. 

All screenings include: 

• Office visit with a HCM specialty provider and team 
• Review of family history and symptoms 
• Electrocardiogram (ECG) and echocardiogram to look at your heart’s electrical activity and the pumping function of your heart
• Visit may include genetic counseling from a HCM specialty provider

You and your family also may benefit from genetic counseling and testing.

Meet other West Michiganders living with HCM. Attend the Spectrum Health Cardiomyopathy Support Group to learn and share with others facing similar experiences and challenges. Ask your HCM specialty nurse for more information about the group.

Enjoy individualized coordinated care from a multidisciplinary team of experts. The physicians, advanced practice providers and nurses on our HCM team have specialized training in HCM.

When you choose Spectrum Health for HCM care, you benefit from the passion and knowledge of a team dedicated to improving care and outcomes for people in West Michigan and throughout the world. You can help us advance care by joining our research registry.

Research registries track information about patients’ health status and the care they receive. We remove identifying details before adding information to the registry.

To learn more about the registry, talk to your HCM specialty nurse.