What is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? Bronny James' cardiac arrest brings awareness about heart condition ailing young athletes

Bronny James suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday morning and was rushed to hospital. James is now in stable condition and is already out of the ICU. However, that did not stop fans from questioning how a seemingly healthy 18-year-old athlete could suddenly enter cardiac arrest.

According to Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a common genetic heart condition that affects people regardless of age, gender and ethnicity.

It's a common misconception that hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is linked with cardiac arrests in teenagers. However, the condition affects more than 1 in 500 people in the United States, and people are encouraged to get tested for it.

While hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has no particular symptoms, some common symptoms of the condition include chest pain, fainting, fatigue, lightheadedness, palpitations, shortness of breath and brain fog. Some people might not even show any symptoms at all.

Several tests can be performed to diagnose hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, like electrocardiogram, echocardiogram and Cardiac MRI. Misdiagnosis is pretty common so additional genetic testing may be done to confirm it. For more information about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, visit 4hcm.org.

LeBron and Savannah James also released a statement through a spokesman regarding their son Bronny James' condition.

"We ask for respect and privacy for the James family, and we will update media when there is more information," the spokesman said.

"LeBron and Savannah wish to publicly send their deepest thanks and appreciation to the USC medical and athletic staff for their incredible work and dedication to the safety of their athletes."

Sportskeeda's resident NBA insider Mark Medina also conducted an interview with three cardiac health professionals to offer their perspective on what happened with Bronny James.

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Fans not buying conspiracy theory about what caused Bronny James' cardiac arrest

Many on Twitter were quick to blame the COVID-19 vaccine for causing Bronny James' cardiac arrest. However, others were quick to point out that cardiac arrest cases in teenagers have many potential causes, with one of them being hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

One fan told the story of her friend's daughter who suffered cardiac arrest at age 12, survived and was diagnosed with the genetic condition.

Another urged people to not believe any conspiracy theories and read about hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Another fan pointed out the cases of Hank Gathers of the Loyola Marymount Lions and Reggie Lewis of the Boston Celtics. They died due to cardiac arrest in 1990 and 1993, respectively, and were diagnosed with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy after their deaths.