Isolated left ventricular non-compaction, not hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Abstract

Sir, Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a relatively common cardiac disease (1:500 in the general population), which both general physicians and cardiologists encounter frequently in clinical practice. However, there are conditions that may mimic HCM (Table 1). We describe a patient with an initial diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Further investigations several years later revealed an alternative diagnosis of isolated left ventricular non-compaction (IVNC). View this table: Table 1 Differential diagnoses to consider when echocardiographic features of HCM are present In 1991, an asymptomatic 24-year-old woman was diagnosed with HCM, based on an echocardiogram that showed moderate left ventricular hypertrophy particularly affecting the septum, part of familial screening following the diagnosis of HCM in her mother. Over the following 11 years, she developed …