Can a common heart condition cause sudden death? About one person out of 500 has a heart condition known as hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). This condition causes thickening of the heart muscle and results in defects in the heart's electrical system. Under conditions of environmental stress such as exercise, HCM can result in sudden death. In other cases, patients may go undiagnosed, with their heart function declining gradually over decades. Source 8b.
CRISPR gene editing tech lead to new insights about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common of all genetic heart diseases and is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death. It is characterized by an abnormal thickening of the heart muscle, which over time can lead to cardiac dysfunction and, ultimately, heart failure. Source 3p.