Need-to-know anatomy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy frequently affects the function of the ventricles, myocardium, ventricular septum, and mitral valve. These structures of the heart play a vital role in circulating blood throughout the body.

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The heart consists of muscle tissue known as the myocardium. Muscle fibers are the building blocks of the tissue. They not only provide the power for pumping, but also transmit electrical signals throughout the heart.

In general, the structure of the heart can be thought of as a two-story house with four rooms or chambers. On the main floor are the two largest rooms--the left and right ventricles, which are the main pumping chambers of the heart. The right ventricle pumps blood into the lungs to be oxygenated; the left ventricle pumps blood to the body. The wall between the left and right ventricles is called the ventricular septum. On the upper story are two smaller rooms--the left and right atriums. The atriums function primarily as receiving chambers for blood entering the heart from the lungs or the rest of the body, but also contribute slightly to pumping.

The valves of the heart function like one-way doors. The valves help control the direction of blood flow; this keeps the heart working efficiently. The four valves in the heart are the tricuspid, mitral, pulmonary, and aortic valves. Of particular interest in HCM are the mitral and the aortic valves. The mitral valve is the valve between the left atrium and the left ventricle. Blood from the lungs enters the left atrium via the pulmonary veins, then exits through the mitral valve into the left ventricle. The mitral valve keeps the oxygenated blood flowing from the left atrium into the left ventricle. The aortic valve is adjacent to the mitral valve; it helps keep the blood flowing from the left ventricle into the aorta, the main artery that channels oxygen-rich blood to the rest of the body.