The distribution of fibrosis was studied quantitatively in the entire left ventricular wall of a transverse slice of the heart from 10 necropsy cases of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, 10 cases of hypertensive heart disease, and 20 normal adults. The percentage area (mean (SD)) of fibrosis in the left ventricular wall in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (10.5 (4.3)%) was significantly greater than that...

Ventricular tachyarrhythmias are common in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy that may lead to syncope and sudden death. Bradyarrhythmia such as atrioventricular conduction disturbance, a relatively rare complication associated with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, may also cause syncope and sudden death in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. We report a 28-year old man who was diagnosed as a case of hypertrophi...

While hypertension is known to cause left ventricular and vascular hypertrophy, the relationship between alterations of vascular and cardiac structures in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy has not been fully clarified. We measured intima-media thickness of carotid arteries by ultrasonography in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (n = 16), normotensive subjects (n = 358), and hype...

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a relatively recent concept. It occurs not infrequently; 1 in 500 individuals within the general population is a carrier of the disease.1 The main genes responsible for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy have been characterized and can be determined with relative ease.2 Some patients develop subaortic obstruction. The original term, idiopathic hypertrophic subaortic sten...

The cardiac findings in two sibs with Friedreich's ataxia are described. The clinical signs were suggestive of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy. During left heart catheterization a systolic pressure gradient across the left ventricular outflow tract could be provoked by an infusion of isoprenaline. Left ventricular angiocardiograms and echocardiograms showed gross thickening of the inter...

Background. Patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with symptoms refractory to drugs (j3-blockers or verapamil) are candidates for cardiac surgery (left ventricular septal myectomy or mitral valve replacement). The present study examines prospectively the ability of dual-chamber (DDD) pacing to improve symptoms and relieve left ventricular outflow obstruction in such patien...

A 70-year-old man was diagnosed with mid-ventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MVOHCM) with apical aneurysm and paradoxic jet flow. At cardiac catheterization, pressure study showed that there was a markedly high pressure-gradient of 90 mmHg between the apex and the base in systole. Apical pressure was 350 mmHg after premature ventricular contraction. The apical aneurysm was alre...

At the emergency room, advanced ages with chest pain and ST-T changes in the electrocardiogram (ECG) could be easily considered as acute coronary syndrome (ACS) and transferred to catheterization laboratory for urgent coronary angiogram (CAG). In our case, these patients were finally diagnosed as apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (AHCM) after urgent CAG subsequent to echocardiogram. AHCM is co...

Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (i.e., asymmetric septal hypertrophy) may show obstruction to left ventricular outflow under basal conditions or with provocative maneuvers. The presence of dynamic left ventricular outflow tract obstruction in patients with concentric ventricular wall thickening (but without abnormalities of the aortic valve) has been less well appreciated. Clinical an...

Takotsubo cardiomyopathy is a form of transient, reversible left ventricular dysfunction that can mimic an acute coronary event. However, cardiac catheterization often reveals normal coronary arteries. Patients are often postmenopausal women who experience acute physical or emotional distress. The prognosis for this entity is quite favorable. In this report, we present three cases of Takotsubo ...