It killed a freind of mine in his early 40’s. He felt like he had the flu. By the time he went to the hospital, in 12 hours he was dead.
Hope he fairs better.
I had this same condition.....in July of 2000.
I had flu-like symptoms, was coughing a lot, had trouble breathing when climbing stairs, and my body felt like it was made of lead.
Finally, on my birthday 13 years ago this month, my sister noticed that I was having problems even picking up a book. She pleaded with my to go the ER at a local hospital here in Maine, which I did.
They took x-rays. I was diagnosed with dilated cardiomyopathy, which included an enlarged heart, congestive heart failure, a thickening of some of the walls of the heart, etc. Fluid build-up in my heart, too.
I was in intensive care for three days. I didn’t have a doctor, so one of the on call doctors....a woman....became my personal MD. In addition to various meds, she suggested taking co-enzyme Q10,,,,,,CO-Q 10. In cases of dilated cardiomyopathy, CO-Q 10 can repair the heart muscle.
A normal “ejection-fraction” is between 55 - 73%. Mine was 21%. A year later, it was 50%, in 2001. My doctor called me all excited after my 2001 echo-cardiogram, and told me, “You’re cured!” In 2002, my ejection fraction. was 60%.
Bottom line, I’m active, run up stairs, lift heavy objects, exercise, lift weights, etc. Hurray!
By happenstance, I was visiting a relative at a hospital in Bangor, Maine in 2003, and I bumped into the cardiologist I had one appointment with in the summer of 2000. When I told him how dramatically my ejection fraction improved from the C0-Q 10, his eyes were as wide as saucers.
You can buy CO-Q 10 in quantity at Sam’s Club, or in WalMart or pretty much any drug store chain. They don’t know what caused my former condition.....they suspected a virus. Heavy drinking can also cause this condition but, as I told the doctors, “I don’t drink, so that’s not the cause.”
I found a medical study on the Internet back in 2000 which was conducted by a cardiologist at the Cleveland Clinic. He had a number of patients who were on a transplant list. He gave them all CO-Q10, and their heart functions improved greatly....he removed ALL of these patients from the transplant list.
As for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, this type is a congenital condition. Basically, you’re born with it, and people who have this can die suddenly without warning.