Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center and Research Institute

How common is HCM?

If you have received a diagnosis of HCM you are not at all alone. Most patients are surprised to learn how common HCM is. Our data place occurrence up to 1 in every 200 of the general population, which means that there may be as many as 750,000 Americans affected by this disease in some way. However, only a fraction of these individuals are actually identified clinically and therefore HCM is considered an under-recognized disease.

Patients are also often surprised to learn that HCM is a worldwide disease which has now been identified in 122 countries, on all continents, comprising 90% of the world’s population. Therefore, HCM occurs in many cultures, races, ethnic groups, in both genders equally, and appears to be a similar (if not identical) disease wherever it is found.

World Map of HCM