Some patients have a primary problem with their "heart muscle" whereby the thickened heart tissue, which they were born with, will not allow blood to empty normally with each contraction. This entity is known as "hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy". The physicians at the Krannert Institute are well versed with treating this entity. Some of these patients might require a pacemaker or a defibrillator. In addition, patients who cannot have their symptoms adequately controlled on medical therapy may be referred for either an open surgical procedure during which the cardiac surgeons excise and reshape the excessive cardiac tissue. This same procedure can also be done minimally invasively by instilling alcohol into an artery that feeds this same tissue. The alcohol, by destroying the tissue, accomplishes much the same goal as the cardiac surgeon--relieving the obstruction and dramatically improving symptoms. This catheter-based technique has been done by Krannert physicians with excellent short and long term results.