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Voluntary muscle involvement in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A study of eleven patients
Insights
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy involves more than just heart muscle. This study found muscle abnormalities in patients, suggesting a wider disease spectrum affecting both cardiac and voluntary muscles.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Neurology
- Muscle Physiology
Background:
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is typically viewed as a primary cardiac muscle disease.
- Clinical evidence suggests a potentially broader pathological involvement beyond the heart.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the extent of muscle involvement in patients diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
- To determine if abnormalities exist in voluntary muscles of individuals with HCM.
Main Methods:
- Electromyography (EMG) was performed on 11 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
- Voluntary muscle biopsies were obtained and analyzed using light and electron microscopy.
Main Results:
- EMG revealed myopathic findings in 10 out of 10 patients, including reduced potential amplitude and duration.
- Muscle biopsies showed abnormalities in 8 out of 11 patients, such as central core/target fibers and mitochondrial proliferation.
- Subsarcolemmal mitochondrial proliferation was observed in six patients, with some exhibiting abnormal ultrastructure.
Conclusions:
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is associated with widespread muscle abnormalities, extending beyond cardiac muscle.
- The findings suggest HCM is part of a larger disease spectrum affecting both cardiac and skeletal muscles.
- This indicates a systemic myopathic process in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Abstract:
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is generally considered to be a primary disease of cardiac muscle, although several clinical observations suggest that the pathologic process might be more diffuse. To further examine this possibility, electromyography and voluntary muscle biopsies were done on 11 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. In 10 of 10 patients electromyography showed reductions in mean potential amplitude and duration, with an increased incidence of short-duration polyphasic deflections (findings traditionally accepted as indicative of a myopathic process). Light and electron microscopic studies of the biopsy material showed abnormalities in eight of 11 patients: four had central core or target fibers, or both, and two of these, plus four others, had subsarcolemmal mitochondrial proliferation with or without abnormal ultrastructure. These findings indicate that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is only one aspect of a larger disease spectrum, with abnormalities in both voluntary and cardiac muscle.
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