The American Heart Association (AHA) is expanding its national initiative to improve the diagnosis and management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), the most common inherited heart disease in the United States.
HCM affects an estimated 1 in 500 people, yet many cases remain undetected until symptoms become severe. The expanded program aims to reduce missed diagnoses and standardize care across clinical settings.
HCM is characterized by thickening of the left ventricle, the heart’s main pumping chamber. The disease is chronic and progressive, increasing the risk of atrial fibrillation, stroke, and heart failure. Despite these risks, patient care remains inconsistent nationwide, with substantial variation in detection, referral, and treatment practices.
To address these gaps, the AHA will broaden its existing systems-of-care effort with new support from Cytokinetics. The expanded initiative will include a larger national HCM Registry through the Association’s Get With The Guidelines® platform; additional certification pathways for referring centers and clinicians; new patient-support services at select sites; and a prospective pilot to evaluate the AHA’s HCM detection algorithm.
This partnership builds on the program’s initial launch, supported by founding sponsor Bristol Myers Squibb, and is intended to create a more unified national standard for HCM management.
“Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy can be insidious, with some individuals showing no clear symptoms until stress or exertion brings them out,” said Anjali Owens, M.D., volunteer co-chair of the AHA’s HCM initiative and director of the Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease at the University of Pennsylvania. “A coordinated approach across the entire care pathway is essential for improving outcomes and quality of life.”
Cytokinetics echoed the importance of standardized care. “Because HCM can be complex to identify and treat, we are proud to support efforts focused on advancing care and improving outcomes,” said Fady I. Malik, M.D., Ph.D., the company’s executive vice president of research and development.
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