When you have a specific molecular etiology, you will be able to identify that risk factor. If, for example, you have a specific mutation that we have identified in the beta myosin heavy chain, your average life span is 28 years. Many people with this mutation today have an automatic defibrillator in now. Absolutely, but before I get into that, we need to go back to the fundamentals. You and I both have two copies of every gene, one from our mother, and one from our father.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an autosomal dominant disease.
That means that you have one gene that is bad, and one that is perfectly normal. Now, we know from cultures of human cells, that you can still live to be about 106 years with a single copy. That is coupled with another clear cut fact, and that is that you and I get a new heart about every three weeks. Most of our heart turns over every five or six days. But all of it, including calcium and fibrous tissue, turns over every 17 days.