Major Cardiomyopathy Study Set to Save Lives
UVA Health cardiologist Christopher M. Kramer, MD, co-led a multi-year study seeking to improve care for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, a dangerous thickening of the heart.
An international study co-led by our Christopher M. Kramer, MD, is set to save lives of patients with dangerous hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), an abnormal thickening of the heart, while sparing low-risk patients from unneeded heart implants.
Dr. Kramer's study found that a combination of advanced heart imaging, called cardiac MRI, and a simple blood test can pinpoint patients at serious risk for sudden death, heart failure or other dangerous outcomes. This approach represents a significant improvement over existing assessment tools that have limited and unreliable predictive ability, leading to deaths the researchers say their new approach can prevent.
“This is an important next step to do a better job of identifying HCM patients at high risk,” said Dr. Kramer, a cardiologist and leading expert on the condition. “This adds to presently used risk markers derived from the patient’s and their family’s prior history.”
Further, the study results will spare lower-risk patients from receiving unnecessary cardioverter-defibrillator devices. These battery-powered devices can be lifesavers by regulating irregular heartbeats, but the new study results will help doctors better assess which patients actually need them.
UVA Health is the only hospital in Virginia to be designated an HCM Center of Excellence by the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association. Such centers are recognized for providing the highest-quality cardiomyopathy care and performing cutting-edge research to advance our understanding of the condition and develop better ways to treat it. Dr. Kramer is a co-director of UVA’s program