My Doctor Discussion Guide
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Here’s the health information you provided as well as some suggested questions you may wish to ask your doctor. This information may help you and your doctor determine if your symptoms could be due to hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or another health condition.
My symptoms and health history
- Symptoms I’ve experienced over the past 2 months are:
shortness of breath.
- My symptoms do get worse with physical exertion.
- Activities that are difficult for me to perform because of my symptoms are: climbing stairs.
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I have noticed myself making changes to my activities or lifestyle.
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I have
been diagnosed with the following health conditions:
anxiety, asthma
.
- Yes my family members
have had cardiac issues, an unexplained death, or were diagnosed with HCM.
- I am currently treating my symptoms with:
- I have had an electrocardiogram (ECG), stress test, or echocardiogram (“echo”).
Please provide details about test results:
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Questions I may want to ask my doctor
- What do you think might be causing my symptoms? If your doctor says it might be HCM, ask if further evaluation is needed.
- I have at least one of the conditions that share symptoms with HCM—could there be an explanation for why I still have symptoms? Chances are, the diagnosis of your condition is accurate. But because it’s possible to have more than one condition at the same time, your doctor may want to make sure that you don’t also have HCM.
- How is HCM evaluated and diagnosed? Your doctor may mention a few tests you may have not heard of such as: an electrocardiogram, or ECG, records the electrical signals of your heart; an echocardiogram, or “echo,” is a heart ultrasound. The echo may be performed under stress while you’re using a bike or treadmill, or while you’re doing a breathing test called a Valsalva maneuver, which checks how well blood flows from your heart under pressure.
- What does it mean if I have a relative with HCM? Do I need to be tested? If you have a relative with HCM, it’s important to be tested; you should request to be tested if your doctor doesn’t suggest it.
- Should I be seeking HCM advice from a specialist? Depending on your doctor’s experience with HCM, you may be advised to follow up with another doctor, or a cardiologist (a heart specialist).
Symptoms of HCM can develop at any age and progress over time.
HCM is a lifelong disease where the heart muscle wall thickens, stiffens, and makes it harder for the heart to pump oxygenated blood throughout the body.
Left undiagnosed and unmanaged, HCM can lead to serious complications such as heart failure, atrial fibrillation (AFib), and stoke.
Notes from my discussion
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