Extreme Left Vetricular Hypertrophy: An Indicator of Increased Risk of Sudden Death in HypertrophicCardiomyopathy

摘要

Since the first modern descriptions of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in 1958, sudden and unexpected cardiac death has been recognized as the most devastating feature in the natural history of this disease [1-3]. The fact that sudden death most often occurs in young patients in the absence of previous symptoms makes this event particularly dramatic [4]. However, despite several decades of research, the heterogeneous clinical spectrum and diverse natural history of HCM continue to represent a major obstacle to the identification of those patients at high risk of dying suddenly. Recent observations indicating that the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is highly effective in preventing sudden death in patients with HCM have further increased the need for accurate indicators of risk [5].