I could not believe the difference in concern and care with my new group! After 2 years of not being heard, I was in tears. Someone was not only listening to me, but actually asking me to take part in my care! Blame was shifting away from me and onto this disease. I was learning more and more about what living with HCM meant for me, my life, and my family. I tried talking to my family and explaining that this was a genetic disease. I even got gene tested…although that came up as inconclusive. Remember, only about 50% of the genes have been identified. So, even though I had a wonderful group of medical providers, I was still hitting a roadblock with my family. Frustrating is an accurate word!

Onward and upward! My whole care plan was adjusted. More testing was done. I found out I was obstructed….which was what was causing the majority of my symptoms. Surgery was discussed, but dismissed (by me!). I was terrified of the thought of having to go through open heart surgery! I started doing more research and I stumbled upon the HCMA Facebook group. What a godsend they were! I admit, I was a lurker for several months before finally posting my first post introducing myself. So many were encouraging and trying to put my fears at ease about surgery.

But, me being me…..I wanted to put it off as long as possible. My doctor, Kia Afshar, told me about a trial they were participating in with a drug called perhexiline. He thought I might be a good candidate. The drug company was trying to determine if this drug could have an impact on exercise capability and tolerance in the obstructed group of HCM. And, as my exercise tolerance had decreased dramatically, I was all for trying. So, I went through the consenting and screening process.

One of the tests that I had to do was called a VO2 Max. I had never heard of it, but apparently its pretty popular with athletes. It measures how well your body utilizes the oxygen it takes in, and how well you recover after exercising. What a fun test! (NOT!) I would tease each time, I felt like a pilot in a fighter jet plane. You wore a contraption similar to their helmets. For this test, I could choose to do treadmill or stationary bike. As a group, we decided the bike would probably be my safest route. Not only did I have to wear this funky mask, but I also had to be hooked up to the monitor. No chance for modesty during any of these tests!

On goes the nose clamp, then a hollow “bite” tube for breathing. Then a pulse ox attached to my brow. All of this held in place by straps that go around my head in various spots. On to the bike I climb.

To do this test, that exertion intensifies at measured intervals. So, every 2 minutes the resistance would increase. I had to keep my “speed” between a certain parameter, I could not close my eyes, and I had to hold on to the bars. My blood pressure would be taken every minute. They wanted me to “go” as long as I could and gave me a number (7 minutes) to shoot for. Nope, didn’t make it! I think I lasted 4 or 5 minutes. I had to wait an hour after this test to do what was called the walk test. How far I could walk in a premeasured distance in 6 minutes. After all of this, I finally got to meet with my doctor.

I was excited and nervous at the same time. Hopefully I would pass the screening process and be put on the study…..and since it was a phase 2, I would be getting study drug! Hopeful was my name!

Dr Afshar came into the conference room and went over the results thus far. EKG, blood work, echo all fit well within the protocol guidelines. Then he started talking about the VO2. He threw out some numbers and then mentioned a word that literally stopped my world. I heard nothing after that.

TRANSPLANT!

Are we talking about me?!?! Transplant? What?

For this particular study, I had to repeat all these tests within 2 weeks and fall within a certain guideline to be enrolled. I decided to use these next couple of weeks to find out more information on what the VO2 results meant. What I found out devastated me. My first VO2 result was 11. Someone for my age and sex, to receive a poor number, was roughly between 27-30 (depends on the chart you look at). Below 12 they start talking transplant.

On to round 2 of testing! Again, after echo, ekg and VO2, I met with Dr Afshar. My VO2 number came back at 9 this time! I could just cry!!! We were thinking that I might be too sick to be enrolled, but all the numbers and tests were sent into the drug company to analyze. I remember, I was really down on myself during this time. Nobody I could really talk to that could truly understand, except the HCM group. I’m sure they were getting sick of my boohooing. But, I honestly had nobody else I could turn to.

I finally heard back from the study coordinators. I was accepted into the study!! I scheduled my first visit, and looked forward to trying a new drug. I so did not want surgery! In the meantime, I met with the EP (the original doctor I had scheduled with) and the genetic counselor. It was decided because of my family history, multiple episodes of NSVT (non sustained V-Tach) and multifocal PVCs, that an ICD would be very appropriate. So, we got that scheduled and I started taking study drug.

Let me digress for just a moment and do some explaining of terminology.

EP – Electrophyisologist (the heart electrician, if you will)

NSVT – Non Sustained Ventricular Tachycardia (a fast heart rate – greater than 100 – that originates in the ventricles) This can be life threatening

PVC – Premature Ventricular Contraction In and of itself, this is a pretty benign arrythymia…we all get them. Kinda feels like a hiccup of the heart. In my case, I have PVCs that originate in different parts of my heart, and a lot of them. Again, all in all, not horrible, but could be a sign of an unstable heart.

For the next 4 months, I took my study drug, in addition to my other drugs, and had my ICD implanted. I was feeling pretty good! I found out that my coordinators had enrolled another fellow hcm’er into the study and he was doing well, too. End of the study came, and time to do the exit testing. I was kind of excited to see how well my numbers increased, since I did feel so much better!

Come to find out, it was a short lived euphoria. My number did go up from 9…..up to 10. I was devastated. The week after my exit testing, the drug company actually pulled the study. They were not getting the numbers they had hoped for. I finished the study, but the other guy in my group did not. But we both agreed we should go to Europe and get some of the drug! (Perhexiline is available in Europe and in Australia).

My next followup appointment with my doctor, we discussed in detail the need to myectomy. But, there was one more option to try. Its a drug called Norpace that has had some positive results for some of those with obstruction. He was willing to give it a shot, but I would have to do an inpatient loading of the drug to make sure I didn’t develop long Q-T. We scheduled a time for me to come in….after work on Friday, and to be discharged on Sunday evening….and a weekend Dr Afshar was on the floor.

Into the hospital I went. Unfortunately, the nursing staff did not know how to “manage” me. I was not their typical heart failure patient, and the doctor allowed me to go anywhere I wanted within the hospital. I just needed to be there to get my drugs, and to do my ekg’s. I even had to educate a couple of the nurses about this disease, as they had never even heard of it! I stayed my weekend, no long Q-T and got discharged. I gave it the old college try, but 7 weeks later, and I noticed no difference in how I felt. The end had come. No more options, except SURGERY!