A p.R870H mutation in the beta-cardiac myosin heavy chain 7 gene causes familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in several members of an Indian family.

Familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is an autosomal dominant genetic disorder characterized mainly by left ventricular hypertrophy and myocyte disarray; it is the most common cause of sudden death in otherwise healthy individuals. More than 270 mutations in genes encoding the cardiac sarcomere have been identified. Attempts to establish a genotype-phenotype correlation for each of the mutations have not been highly successful. It has been suggested that additional genetic loci, as well as nongenetic factors such as lifestyle, gender and age, may play a role in modulating the clinical presentation of the disease. The p.R870H mutation has been identified as the cause of familial hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in an Indian family. The results indicate that the disease phenotype varied among various affected members of the family, and the variation may be attributed to factors, such as gender and gene dosage.