The thickening reduces the size of the pumping chamber and obstructs blood flow. It also prevents the heart from properly relaxing between beats and so filling with blood. Eventually, this limits the pumping action. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a rare disease, occurring in no more than 0.2 percent of the U.S. population. It can affect men and women of all ages.
Symptoms can appear in childhood or adulthood.
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