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Re: Running a marathon
Yeah, move heaven and earth to get yourself to an HCM expert, especially since you are an athlete.
You need to know what flavor of HCM you have and that will affect your prognosis and recommendations.
I was very active, able to skate (rollerblade) many miles in hilly terrain. Then I wondered why I stand up after a light meal and practically pass out trying to cross the street in traffic. My GP would send me to a cardio guy for a stress test and the SOB (and I don't mean Shortness of Breath) would say that I was "out of shape".
Fast forward years later to a proper dx and it turns out that the key was warming up to an exercise gradually. What I later realized was that when I went to the park to skate, I had to slowly navigate city streets and sidewalks and that "warmed me up". Same thing with the Bruce Protocol on the treadmill during a stress test- because it started out walking and only gradually worked up to a run, I never showed the symptoms. if they had thrown me on to a running treadmill, I would have hit the wall right away and they would have caught the obstruction.
Dr Shrerrid in NY was smarter. He told me that there was a good Greek diner across the street from his office, and he advised me to eat a big meal there, then come over for the tests. They caught the higher LVOT gradient right away and confirmed the dx.
I have more anecdotes but my point in the long story is that this is tricky and eludes a lot of general practitioners. You really need to get to a specialist. I suffered for years before finding someone to get it right. More to you point, they will advise you of limitations and restrictions based on your specific version of HCM. In my case it was never a risk of sudden death (any more than another 50-something male), but a risk of discomfort and increasing disability.
Yeah, move heaven and earth to get yourself to an HCM expert, especially since you are an athlete.
You need to know what flavor of HCM you have and that will affect your prognosis and recommendations.
I was very active, able to skate (rollerblade) many miles in hilly terrain. Then I wondered why I stand up after a light meal and practically pass out trying to cross the street in traffic. My GP would send me to a cardio guy for a stress test and the SOB (and I don't mean Shortness of Breath) would say that I was "out of shape".
Fast forward years later to a proper dx and it turns out that the key was warming up to an exercise gradually. What I later realized was that when I went to the park to skate, I had to slowly navigate city streets and sidewalks and that "warmed me up". Same thing with the Bruce Protocol on the treadmill during a stress test- because it started out walking and only gradually worked up to a run, I never showed the symptoms. if they had thrown me on to a running treadmill, I would have hit the wall right away and they would have caught the obstruction.
Dr Shrerrid in NY was smarter. He told me that there was a good Greek diner across the street from his office, and he advised me to eat a big meal there, then come over for the tests. They caught the higher LVOT gradient right away and confirmed the dx.
I have more anecdotes but my point in the long story is that this is tricky and eludes a lot of general practitioners. You really need to get to a specialist. I suffered for years before finding someone to get it right. More to you point, they will advise you of limitations and restrictions based on your specific version of HCM. In my case it was never a risk of sudden death (any more than another 50-something male), but a risk of discomfort and increasing disability.
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