Browse the corpus
Walk the Even Hospital Database by book and chapter — the raw source passages that ground Ask, DDx, and the rest.
2 passages
The heart is a four-chambered organ responsible for pumping blood throughout the body. It receives deoxygenated blood from the body, sends it to the lungs, receives oxygenated blood from the lungs, and then distributes the oxygenated blood throughout the body. At the histological level, the cellular features of the heart play a vital role in its normal function and adaptations.
In hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, changes at the cellular level have a significant impact on the gross structure and physiology of the heart. There are several causes for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Some examples include genetic mutation, hypertension, and aortic stenosis. Key histologic findings are cardiomyocyte disarray (hypertrophied and disorganized myocytes) and interstitial fibrosis of the left ventricle and interventricular septum.[11] These cellular changes can be due to increased afterload placed on the left ventricle or mutations in sarcomere proteins, such as the B-myosin heavy chain (MYH7) and the cardiac myosin binding protein C (MYBPC3) genes.[12] Under electron microscopy, abnormal myocytes, and sarcomeres are visible in areas of myocyte disarray. Masson's elastic trichrome stain can help identify areas of fibrosis. Further hypertrophy of the myocardium causes diastolic dysfunction and heart failure.