Educational Module

Educational Module 5 - Family screening for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy​

Course Overview

This content was accurate at the time of release, 1 November 2021. Accreditation for this course expired on 2 November 2022. If you would still like an activity completion certificate, send your request to [email protected].

This online learning module is designed to raise awareness for HCM and provide you with an understanding of the need to screen and the types of screening for HCM. It assists clinicians in community practice or those with an interest in HCM management to:  

  • recognise the importance of genetic testing / counseling for HCM, along with the limitations 
  • understand when the different types of HCM screening might be appropriate  
  • know when referral to an HCM expert center is appropriate 

This online learning module is designed to be completed in 60 minutes.  

Target audience: Family/general physicians, general/community cardiologists, cardiac nurses, paediatricians, paediatric nurses, genetic counselors 

Funding disclosure: This activity is supported by educational grant funding from Bristol Myers Squibb, Cytokinetics and Sanofi.  

Learners may participate in this educational activity free of charge. 

  • Screening for HCM – background  
  • Genetic testing for HCM 
  • Types of screening for HCM – what and when  
  • Genotype-positive, phenotype-negative patients 

By the end of this activity, learners will be able to: 

  • Explain the role of genetic testing in the evaluation of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) to patients and family members  
  • Outline the recommended screening strategies for relatives at risk of developing HCM and plan a course of action  
  • Explain the limitations associated with genetic screening for HCM and apply this to sample data 
  • Summarize how early diagnosis of HCM can improve the natural history of HCM patients and utilize this knowledge in interpreting example data 
  • Outline appropriate clinical management strategies for genotype-positive phenotypenegative HCM patients and apply these to sample patients 

Accreditation for this course has expired. You may view the program, but CME / CE is no longer available and no certificate will be issued.

Faculty disclosure: 

Dr John Lynn Jefferies, MD, Professor and Chief of Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Cardiovascular Disease, Methodist University Hospital/ University of Tennessee, St Jude Children’s Research Hospital, has received financial compensation for consulting for Abbott, Novartis, and Pfizer, and received research grants from Myokardia, Abbott, Novartis, and Pfizer. 

Dr Anjali Tiku Owens, MD, Medical Director of the Advanced Heart Failure and Transplant Cardiology, Penn Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease/ University of Pennsylvania, received financial compensation for consulting for MyoKardia/BMS and Cytokinetics. 

Lisa Salberg, Founder and CEO of the Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association (HCMA), has no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose. 

Disclosure of educational planners: 

Lauren Tebay, BA (mod), PhD, Senior Medical Writer, PCM Scientific, has no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose.  

Charles Turck, PharmD, BCPS, BCCCP, President of ScientiaCME, has no relevant conflicts of interest to disclose. 

All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.