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Circulation Research. 2006;98:443-445
doi: 10.1161/01.RES.0000214328.16941.70
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(Circulation Research. 2006;98:443.)
© 2006 American Heart Association, Inc.


Editorials

Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Exercise and Eat Right

Elizabeth M. McNally

From the Departments of Medicine and Human Genetics, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, University of Chicago, Ill.

Correspondence to Elizabeth M. McNally, University of Chicago, Departments of Medicine and Human Genetics, Institute for Cardiovascular Research, 5841 S. Maryland Ave MC6088, Chicago, IL 60637. E-mail emcnally{at}medicine.bsd.uchicago.edu



See related article, pages 540–548


Key Words: hypertrophic cardiomyopathy • exercise • soy • casein • NFAT


*    Introduction
up arrowTop
*Introduction
down arrowExercise Prevents or Partially...
down arrowReferences
 
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a common disorder1 that arises from mutations in genes encoding the proteins of the sarcomere. Although 9 different sarcomere genes have been implicated, point mutations in the gene encoding the ß heavy chain of myosin (Myh7) or myosin binding protein C (MyBPC3) are responsible for more than half of genetically confirmed cases of HCM.2 Clinical management of HCM revolves around 2 significant issues: (1) reducing heart failure symptoms, if present, and (2) preventing sudden cardiac death.3 The underlying pathological process in HCM is one of cellular hypertrophy that affects cardiomyocytes and is associated with myofibrillar disarray. Hypertrophy of the ventricular chambers is variable in HCM and may target the intraventricular septum leading to outflow gradient. HCM may also target the ventricular apex or hypertrophy may be concentric. Hypertrophy itself can increase the risk of sudden death by promoting subendocardial ischemia.4,5 The mechanisms that underlie the risk and incidence of sudden death in HCM are likely heterogeneous,6 and therefore, sudden death remains difficult to predict and manage.

In humans, HCM is variable in its presentation. The precise genetic mutation that underlies HCM offers some predictive value.2 For example, some mutations lead to an earlier or later onset of disease, whereas some are highly pathologic inducing a rapid onset of hypertrophy (first or second decade) or risk of highly penetrant sudden cardiac death. As a generalization, with notable exceptions, mutations in Myh7 tend to be earlier onset and more pathologic than HCM associated with MyBPC3 gene mutations. Echocardiography is a useful tool to identify HCM and can be used to identify those at risk of HCM.7 The availability of clinical CLIA-certified genetic testing for HCM is markedly improving the identification of at-risk individuals.8,9 The early identification of young individuals, often children, who are at risk for HCM raises the issue, what can be done to prevent the development of HCM? How can risk be reduced?


*    Exercise Prevents or Partially Reverses HCM
up arrowTop
up arrowIntroduction
*Exercise Prevents or Partially...
down arrowReferences
 
In this issue of Circulation Research, Konhilas and colleagues examined the role of exercise in preventing the development of the hypertrophic phenotype in a murine model of HCM.10 The model used in this study expresses a mutant myosin heavy chain impaired in its ability to bind actin, and this model develops pathology by 6 to 8 months of age. As in human HCM, this murine model displays an increase in heart weight to body weight, molecular features such as shifted myosin isoforms and ANF expression, as well as histopathologic changes including myofibrillar disarray and fibrosis. To assess the role of exercise, 2 exercise schemes were tested. In the first exercise protocol, young mice, largely prepathologic (2 months of age), were exposed to voluntary cage wheel running for 6 months. The second mode of exercise exposed older animals with established pathology (at 6 months of age) to 2 months of exercise. After exercise, mice were examined for heart weight, myocardial disarray, and fibrosis. Interestingly, most of these aspects of HCM were delayed or absent when exercise was begun early as a preventative strategy. Elements of the phenotype were reversed partially with later onset of exercise. Interestingly, fibrosis was not reversible when voluntary exercise was begun after HCM was established.

The exercise paradigm undertaken in this study was voluntary cage wheel running. This form of exercise is not enforced and therefore less likely to be associated with the adrenergic surge that other forms of exercise may have. As such, this should be considered a modest exercise program. Interestingly, exposure to the running wheel for 2 months was associated with hypertrophy in both normal control as well as genetically mutant HCM mice. Exposure to the running wheel for 6 months produced a reduction in heart weight in both control and mutant mice. Acute and chronic adaptations to exercise are known to differ, but this study emphasizes that adaptations to exercise continue to evolve over a much longer timeframe. Responses seen after 2 months of exercise may differ considerably than what is seen in chronic exercise. Further molecular characterizations of the differences seen in response to shorter and longer-term exercise are warranted.

As a more specific marker indicating the reduction of pathologic hypertrophy in HCM, Konhilas et al showed that NFAT activation was reduced by long term exercise, and this is consistent with NFAT activation as a marker of pathologic, but not physiologic, hypertrophy, as has been previously noted.11 Correspondingly, ANF and myosin heavy chain isoforms were shifted in response to exercise. Finally, proapoptotic markers were reduced with both exercise paradigms indicating that exercise can both prevent and partially reverse the pathology in HCM.

Intriguingly, in this model, Akt phosphorylation differed after 2 months of exercise but not after 6 months of exercise. Akt phosphorylation in this setting may reflect 2 months of exercise rather than the onset of pathologic hypertrophy given the known role of Akt in organ growth.12–15 As with Akt, phosphorylation of GSK-3ß is responsive to exercise but simultaneously influenced by the pathologic hypertrophic response in HCM.12,13,16 Therefore, certain signaling pathways may be differentially activated in response to both physiologic and pathologic hypertrophy.17

Diet Attenuates HCM
Using similar models of murine HCM, Stauffer et al recently noted a significant reduction in pathologic hypertrophy in response to dietary content.18 In this case, a more severe HCM pathology resulted from diet based on soy products. A casein (milk) protein-based diet was associated with much less hypertrophy in male HCM mice whereas the soy-based diet promoted cardiac hypertrophy and fibrosis. Female HCM mice appeared to be less affected by diet. Because male HCM mice were more adversely affected by the soy based diet, it was reasoned that phytoestrogens, compounds readily found in soy that are known to engage estrogen receptors, mediated this physiology. It is hypothesized that female mice are more readily exposed to estrogen compounds and therefore more tolerant to the phytoestrogens present in soy. These findings underscore that variability in genetic disease may derive from environmental influences, and these findings caution against genetic determinism.

Recommendations for HCM Patients
Although it is tempting to speculate that modest exercise may be beneficial in human HCM patients, it should be cautioned that these environmental modifications, diet and exercise, were tested in a small animal model of HCM. Although this model is extremely informative, it remains to be determined whether these findings will translate to human HCM. One notable absence in this and other small animal models of HCM is the lack of sudden death or arrhythmia phenotype. Therefore, although modest exercise and dietary management may be effective in reducing pathologic hypertrophy, the effect on sudden death and arrhythmias in human HCM was not addressed in the present study.

Sudden death is the most devastating consequence of HCM because it may strike young, otherwise seemingly healthy individuals. Sudden death often occurs during exercise in HCM. Often, exercise associated with sudden death in HCM is characterized as "intense" or "competitive," but it need not be. Sudden death may be the first presentation of HCM, and this leaves the clinician left to advise the survivor or family members with regard to exercise recommendations. One of the most vexing questions in the management of HCM patients is advice with regard to exercise, especially competitive exercise. In its simplest form, this question arises for the young HCM patient who wishes to participate in grade school or high school sports. Close monitoring is required during pubertal growth, and clinicians may often advise against competitive exercise and recommend modest exercise in this setting.19

The more complex question arises for the competitive athlete who is incidentally noted to have significant hypertrophy on echocardiography. The competitive athlete participating in rigorous daily exercise is expected to have compensatory hypertrophy. This finding may be further complicated by the presence of syncope or near syncope that can result from a variety of causes such as dehydration, vasovagal response, or cardiac arrhythmia. For these individuals, in addition to imaging studies, family history and/or genetic testing may be helpful to confirm the diagnosis and guide recommendations.20


*    Acknowledgments
 
E.M.M. is supported by NIH HL61322 and NIH HL78926, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, and the Heart Research Foundation.


*    Footnotes
 
The opinions expressed in this editorial are not necessarily those of the editors or of the American Heart Association.


*    References
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*References
 
1. Maron BJ, Gardin JM, Flack JM, Gidding SS, Kurosaki TT, Bild DE. Prevalence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in a general population of young adults. Echocardiographic analysis of 4111 subjects in the CARDIA Study. Coronary Artery Risk Development in (Young) Adults. Circulation. 1995; 92: 785–789.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

2. Tardiff JC. Sarcomeric proteins and familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: linking mutations in structural proteins to complex cardiovascular phenotypes. Heart Fail Rev. 2005; 10: 237–248.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

3. McKenna WJ, Behr ER. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: management, risk stratification, and prevention of sudden death. Heart. 2002; 87: 169–176.[Free Full Text]

4. Yoshida N, Ikeda H, Wada T, Matsumoto A, Maki S, Muro A, Shibata A, Imaizumi T. Exercise-induced abnormal blood pressure responses are related to subendocardial ischemia in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998; 32: 1938–1942.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

5. Schwartzkopff B, Mundhenke M, Strauer BE. Alterations of the architecture of subendocardial arterioles in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and impaired coronary vasodilator reserve: a possible cause for myocardial ischemia. J Am Coll Cardiol. 1998; 31: 1089–1096.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

6. Wolf CM, Moskowitz IP, Arno S, Branco DM, Semsarian C, Bernstein SA, Peterson M, Maida M, Morley GE, Fishman G, Berul CI, Seidman CE, Seidman JG Somatic events modify hypertrophic cardiomyopathy pathology and link hypertrophy to arrhythmia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2005; 102: 18123–18128.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

7. Mahon NG, Murphy RT, MacRae CA, Caforio AL, Elliott PM, McKenna WJ. Echocardiographic evaluation in asymptomatic relatives of patients with dilated cardiomyopathy reveals preclinical disease. Ann Intern Med. 2005; 143: 108–115.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

8. Ingles J, Doolan A, Chiu C, Seidman J, Seidman C, Semsarian C. Compound and double mutations in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: implications for genetic testing and counselling. J Med Genet. 2005; 42: e59.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

9. Van Driest SL, Ommen SR, Tajik AJ, Gersh BJ, Ackerman MJ. Yield of genetic testing in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Mayo Clin Proc. 2005; 80: 739–744.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

10. Konhilas JP, Watson PA, Maass A, Boucek DM, Horn T, Stauffer BL, Luckey SW, Rosenberg P, Leinwand LA. Exercise can prevent and reverse the severity of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Circ Res. 2006; 98: 540–548.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

11. Wilkins BJ, Dai YS, Bueno OF, Parsons SA, Xu J, Plank DM, Jones F, Kimball TR, Molkentin JD Calcineurin/NFAT coupling participates in pathological, but not physiological, cardiac hypertrophy. Circ Res. 2004; 94: 110–118.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

12. Lajoie C, Calderone A, Trudeau F, Lavoie N, Massicotte G, Gagnon S, Beliveau L Exercise training attenuated the PKB and GSK-3 dephosphorylation in the myocardium of ZDF rats. J Appl Physiol. 2004; 96: 1606–1612.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

13. Lajoie C, Calderone A, Beliveau L. Exercise training enhanced the expression of myocardial proteins related to cell protection in spontaneously hypertensive rats. Pflugers Arch. 2004; 449: 26–32.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

14. Luo J, McMullen JR, Sobkiw CL, Zhang L, Dorfman AL, Sherwood MC, Logsdon MN, Horner JW, DePinho RA, Izumo S, Cantley LC. Class IA phosphoinositide 3-kinase regulates heart size and physiological cardiac hypertrophy. Mol Cell Biol. 2005; 25: 9491–9502.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

15. Shioi T, McMullen JR, Kang PM, Douglas PS, Obata T, Franke TF, Cantley LC, Izumo S. Akt/protein kinase B promotes organ growth in transgenic mice. Mol Cell Biol. 2002; 22: 2799–2809.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

16. Konhilas JP, Maass AH, Luckey SW, Stauffer BL, Olson EN, Leinwand LA Sex modifies exercise and cardiac adaptation in mice. Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol. 2004; 287: H2768–H2776.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

17. Dorn GW 2nd, Force T. Protein kinase cascades in the regulation of cardiac hypertrophy. J Clin Invest. 2005; 115: 527–537.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

18. Stauffer BL, Konhilas JP, Luczak ED, Leinwand LA. Soy diet worsens heart disease in mice. J Clin Invest. 2006; 116: 209–216.[CrossRef][Medline] [Order article via Infotrieve]

19. Maron BJ, Chaitman BR, Ackerman MJ, Bayes de Luna A, Corrado D, Crosson JE, Deal BJ, Driscoll DJ, Estes NA, 3rd, Araujo CG, Liang DH, Mitten MJ, Myerburg RJ, Pelliccia A, Thompson PD, Towbin JA, Van Camp SP. Recommendations for physical activity and recreational sports participation for young patients with genetic cardiovascular diseases. Circulation. 2004; 109: 2807–2816.[Abstract/Free Full Text]

20. Maron BJ, Araujo CG, Thompson PD, Fletcher GF, de Luna AB, Fleg JL, Pelliccia A, Balady GJ, Furlanello F, Van Camp SP, Elosua R, Chaitman BR, Bazzarre TL. Recommendations for preparticipation screening and the assessment of cardiovascular disease in masters athletes: an advisory for healthcare professionals from the working groups of the World Heart Federation, the International Federation of Sports Medicine, and the Am Heart Association Committee on Exercise, Cardiac Rehabilitation, and Prevention. Circulation. 2001; 103: 327–334.[Free Full Text]


Related Article:

Exercise Can Prevent and Reverse the Severity of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
John P. Konhilas, Peter A. Watson, Alexander Maass, Dana M. Boucek, Todd Horn, Brian L. Stauffer, Stephen W. Luckey, Paul Rosenberg, and Leslie A. Leinwand
Circ. Res. 2006 98: 540-548. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]




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