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    Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a heart disease characterized by hypertrophy of the left ventricular myocardium and is most often caused by mutations in sarcomere genes. The structural and functional abnormalities are not explained by flow-limiting coronary artery disease or loading conditions. The disease affects at least 0.2% of the population worldwide and is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death in young people and competitive athletes because of fatal ventricular arrhythmia. In some patients, however, HCM has a benign course. Therefore, it is of utmost importance to properly evaluate patients and single out those who would benefit from an implanted cardioverter defibrillator. In this article, we review and summarize the sudden cardiac death risk stratification algorithms, methods of preventing death due to HCM, and novel factors that may improve the existing prediction models.
    Sudden Death
    Risk Stratification
    Abstract Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a rare primary myocardial disease known for its dramatic morphologic and clinical manifestations. Sudden cardiac death and functional cardiac symptoms are common. However, differing pathologic mechanisms may be responsible for similar clinical symptoms and make a unified approach to therapy impossible. This review will discuss the genetics, criteria for diagnosis, relationship among pathophysiologic abnormalities and clinical symptoms, and management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
    Sudden Death
    Pathophysiology
    Citations (7)
    Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the most devastating complication of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Although the annual rate of SCD in the general HCM population is <1% per year according to contemporary series, there is still a small subset of patients who are at increased risk of SCD. The greatest challenge in the management of HCM is identifying those at increased risk as an implantable cardioverter defibrillator is a potentially life-saving therapy. In this review, we sought to summarize the available data on SCD in HCM and provide a clinical perspective on the current differing and somewhat conflicting European and American recommendations on risk stratification, with balanced guidance with regards to rational clinical decision making. Additionally, we sought to learn more on the actual implementation of the guidelines by HCM experts worldwide.
    Risk Stratification
    Sudden Death
    Citations (56)
    Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common inherited cardiac condition, which typically manifests as left ventricular hypertrophy. A small subset of patients with HCM have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) from ventricular arrhythmias. Risk of SCD can be effectively reduced following implantation of implantable cardiac defibrillators (ICD), although this treatment carries a risk of complications such as inappropriate shocks. With this in mind, we turn to advances in cardiac imaging to guide risk stratification for SCD and to select the appropriate individual who may benefit from ICD implantation. In this review, we have taken the opportunity to briefly summarise the role of imaging in the diagnosis of HCM before focusing on how specific imaging features influence risk of SCD in patients with HCM.
    Risk Stratification
    Sudden Death
    Cardiac Imaging
    This literature review is devoted to the problem of studying sudden cardiac death (SCD) in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). It covers prevalence of SCD and its structure among young individuals and trained athletes, contains discussion of relation of SCD to sex, age, and hypertrophic response of myocardium to physical exercise. Modern views on arrhythmogenic substrate underlying SCD in HCM as well as pathophysiologic cascade of life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmia are presented in detail. Approaches to identification of individuals at high risk of SCD are described and main and supplemental clinical criteria are discussed from the point of view of SCD risk stratification. The review also contains results of large trials assessing the role of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) in primary and secondary prevention of SCD in HCM patients, and recommendations on appropriateness of ICD implantation taking into account efficiency of these devices and rate of complications.
    Risk Stratification