Aficamten for treating symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Aficamten is in clinical development for treatment of obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). HCM is an inherited disease, where the heart muscle cells enlarge, and the walls of the heart thicken. If there is significant blocking of blood flow, the condition is called obstructive HCM. This is caused by excessive binding of myosin and actin (proteins involved in muscle contraction) in the heart muscle, which leads to abnormally increased contractions in the heart. This affects the heart’s ability to pump blood around the body effectively, and can cause symptoms including dizziness, fatigue, heartbeat pounding, and swelling of legs, ankles and/or abdomen.