When you have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) it can be a daily struggle. HCM gives you daily reminders that it is there and makes you struggle constantly with things you shouldn’t have.
While the average person’s heart beat is in the 60 to 70 beats per minute where someone with HCM will have 90 to 120 beats per minute. This causes a constant feeling of being winded, and keeps you from being able to run or exercise with your friends. The symptoms are so much like asthma that they sometimes get confused with exactly that. The higher heart beat also means you have to cut down on caffeine otherwise you feels like you drank 20 cups of coffee instead of just two.
When you have Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy your cardiologist will tell you 3 things your whole life. The first is never have children for it can either kill you during labor or your child. The second is do not lift weights or do any rigorous exercise this can severely damage your heart and cause heart failure. Lastly lose weight, being underweight is always ok but overweight is very bad for you. Of course to try and lose the weight by exercise is impossible so you are left with not eating.
HCM is with you when you wake up making you more tired than someone without, because your heart is always pumping harder and you need more sleep. It is with you when you are going to work or school and the lethargy sets in and you struggle through your day. Once you’re fully awake the palpitations start. With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy your heart as it gets strained with skip beats, when it skips it will then try to make up for it by beating fast and irregular. This will feel like a fish in your chest wiggling. If it gets really severe the oxygen stops flowing and y our chest will start to hurt, it may even radiate down your arm like heart attack symptoms however that is not what is happening. If it is severe enough for you to need to visit the hospital they commonly mistake the palpitations for panic attacks and treat you incorrectly.
This heart condition is frustrating to live with but it can be worked around and dealt with in different ways. Below is a list of ways to help with the symptoms you have.
1. Always try to get 8 hours of sleep, your whole system will thank you for it.
2. Lessen your caffeine intake, if you can eliminate it.
3. Keep hydrated, this is extremely important.
4. Watch your blood pressure, it can plummet without cause due to the heart condition, so
keep Gatorade on hand this helps to bring up the blood pressure without hurting your system.
5. Eat well, you may not be able to exercise like you would like so eat better.
6. Don’t become a couch potato, walking is still ok, light swimming is usually ok. Keep your body
in good health to support the organ that isn’t.
7. Always keep cranberry juice in the house. Cranberry juice is a great system cleanser and the
heart medications that you take for HCM can create toxins in your system. This will assist
in cleaning it out.
8. Go to your local health food store and pick up herbs that assist is muscle relaxing or
stress reducing. Thinks like Skull Cap Herb can help when taken during a bad episode
of palpitations.
9. Remember that if you do decide to have children HCM is genetic and more than like to pass down
to your children.
10. Be aware of your other health risks that make coincide or contradict your heart condition.
People with asthma have to be very careful because medication such as beta blockers that are
used to assist with the symptoms of HCM can actually cause asthma attacks.
11. Make sure you get tested every few years to make sure your version of HCM has not turned into
the fatal one.
12. Mental stress can be more taxing on your heart than physical so remember to take a breath and relax.
