As many as 60% of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy don’t receive an appropriate diagnosis when they first come to medical attention.

In fact, HCM patients receive on average of 4 misdiagnoses before finally receiving an accurate HCM diagnosis and appropriate treatment.  A recent paper highlights the this issue which is largely due to a lack of knowledge of HCM in the medical community.  Even cardiologists often fail to accurately diagnose and treat HCM, emphasizing something that those of us with HCM already know – not all cardiologists are equal when it comes to recognizing and treating HCM.  Experts are key! 

Medical professional and patient education and awareness initiatives are critical to address these issues. Hopefully, over time we will start to see improvements to HCM diagnosis and treatment now that there are increasingly new professional and educational initiatives focused on and around HCM, such as the HCM Society.