Gabriel Ganley: understand the disease that led to the bodybuilder's death

The official cause of death of 22-year-old bodybuilder, Gabriel Ganley, was revealed this Monday afternoon (25). According to the death report, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy was cited as the main reason. The information was confirmed to CNN Brasil by sources from the IML (Legal Medical Institute).

Within medicine, the genetic condition is widely known by specialists, as it affects approximately one in every 500 people in the world. In 70% of diagnoses, the disease originates from a hereditary genetic defect. The second most common cause is spontaneous genetic mutations.

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy affects the myocardium, a muscle of the heart, which ends up progressively wearing out, affecting the structure and function of the muscular walls of the heart chambers.

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"In a normal heart, we have ten rowers; of these, only 3 end up making the effort. In a patient with hypertrophic heart disease, of the 10 rowers, 9 are rowing. So, the characterization that the muscle ends up with is this hypertrophy, which causes hypercontraction and hyperrelaxation", explained Fábio Fernandes, director of the Cardiomyopathy group at the Heart Institute (InCor) of the Hospital das Clínicas of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of São Paulo (HCFMUSP) in an interview with the program "CNN Sinais Vitais", by Dr. Kalil.

According to the MSD Manual, the condition is a common cause of sudden death in young athletes. The index is due to the fact that the thick and rigid walls of the ventricles do not relax properly and, when the heart starts to beat quickly, normally during physical activities, the muscle does not have enough time to fill correctly.

What are the symptoms of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?

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- Fainting (syncope);
- Chest pain;
- Shortness of breath;
- Sensation of irregular heartbeats (palpitations).

Fainting often happens unexpectedly and can even worsen the situation, resulting in sequelae or death of patients.

How is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy diagnosed?
According to experts, the disease can be diagnosed using an echocardiogram, a cardiological exam that allows visualizing the characteristic thickening of the heart walls.

The change in structural structures in the final result is the main indicator of the presence of the condition, especially when there are no other illnesses that can justify such changes.

In some previously identified diagnoses, patients can live well with the anomaly when taking medications, such as beta blockers and calcium channel blockers.

In more serious cases, treatments with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator or a more invasive procedure to improve blood flow are also usually indicated.

"Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is one of the most common diseases in cardiology, says expert

*Under the supervision of Gabriela Maraccini, from CNN Brasil

See 5 reasons to evaluate your heart before resuming training

Source: CNN