Beta Blockers vs Calcium Channel meds

[bulybuly]

My daughter had her 6 month check-in yesterday, not with an HCM doc, but a pretty good cardioligist. She takes 50 mg of atenenol a day and seems to do fine with that. NO sob, no symptoms that we can tell...HUGE septum. He said there is some evidence, but it's not at all definitive and that there are current studiess about the idea that calcium channel meds might have a better chance at changing the progression of HCM than beta blockers...and he wanted us to think about switching from atenenol to verapamil or the other calcium channel blocker (don't have the name here).

Wondered what anyone else thinks or knows about this???

[Cynaburst]

There is a clinical study being done right now by Dr. Carolyn Ho at Brigham and Women's using diltiazem (the other CCB you refer to) to determine if it will prevent or minimize hypertrophy in genetically positive but echo negative young people. There is evidence that it works in mice. So far, there have been no studies in people (that I am aware of) besides the Ho study. You can google the Ho study and read more on this site about it.

[mandksiders]

I am on Diltiazem as well. My cardiologist who also diagnosed me put me on it (I have a very small septum measurement of 1.4) because he heard of the study as well. My cardiologist was not an HCM specialist. He referred me to Dr. Ommen at Mayo, who is an HCM specialist.

Dr. Ommen did say they are hopeful that Diltiazem will help gene positive people (right now the study is with younger people- I was too old at 38 to be a part of the study, but that was a moot point when I found out I had HCM and was more than just gene positive) with no HCM diagnosis keep the septum from enlarging. I actually spoke to Dr. Ho on the phone about the study when I was simply gene positive and she did say they have seen success in mice with this and are very hopeful. She called me at home one night to talk about why I couldn't be part of the study. How cool is that? LOL.

Anyway, Dr. Ommen kept me on the Diltiazem and upped my dose of it- because it also helps blood pressure and my BP was a bit high and two, because it is used in the treatment of HCM. He did talk briefly about the study. I, personally, am hopeful that Diltiazem will do the same with my septum that they are finding in the study- that it will somehow alter the presentation of my HCM even though I have a diagnosis. I realize the study is for HCM gene positive people without a diagnosis of HCM, but I am still hopeful that it will somehow do the same thing, especially with my smaller septal measurement.

Good luck to your daughter.