Simultaneous pressure recording in mid-ventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Mid-ventricular Obstructive Cardiomyopathy after Takotsubo Cardiomyopathy

A 93-year-old woman was transferred to our hospital for lightheadedness. She had had Takotsubo cardiomyopathy for seven years. Transthoracic apical four-chamber echocardiography showed a large apical aneurysm. Pulsed-wave Doppler echocardiography at the left ventricular (LV) basal obstruction showed flow directed from the apex to the base during systole and isovolumic relaxation time. The patient was therefore diagnosed with mid-ventricular obstructive cardiomyopathy with a large apical aneurysm and paradoxical flow. The present case suggests that Takotsubo cardiomyopathy may become mid-ventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy without change in its structure.

Apical Aneurysms and Mid-Left Ventricular Obstruction in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND

Apical left ventricular (LV) aneurysms in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) are associated with adverse outcomes. The reported frequency of mid-LV obstruction has varied from 36% to 90%.

OBJECTIVES

The authors sought to ascertain the frequency of mid-LV obstruction in HCM apical aneurysms.

METHODS

The authors analyzed echocardiographic and cardiac magnetic resonance examinations of patients with aneurysms from 3 dedicated programs and compared them with 63 normal controls and 47 controls with apical-mid HCM who did not have aneurysms (22 with increased LV systolic velocities).

RESULTS

There were 108 patients with a mean age of 57.4 ± 13.5 years; 40 (37%) were women. One hundred three aneurysm patients (95%) had mid-LV obstruction with mid-LV complete systolic emptying. Of the patients with obstruction, 84% had a midsystolic Doppler signal void, a marker of complete flow cessation, but only 19% had Doppler systolic gradients ≥30 mm Hg. Five patients (5%) had relative hypokinesia in mid-LV without obstruction. Aneurysm size is not bimodal but appears distributed by power law, with large aneurysms decidedly less common. Comparing mid-LV obstruction aneurysm patients with all control groups, the short-axis (SAX) systolic areas were smaller (P < 0.007), the percent SAX area change was greater (P < 0.005), the papillary muscle (PM) areas were larger (P < 0.003), and the diastolic PM areas/SAX diastolic areas were greater (P < 0.005). Patients with aneurysms had 22% greater SAX PM areas compared with those with elevated LV velocities but no aneurysms (median: 3.00 cm² [IQR: 2.38-3.70 cm²] vs 2.45 [IQR: 1.81-2.95 cm²]; P = 0.004). Complete emptying occurs circumferentially around central PMs that contribute to obstruction. Late gadolinium enhancement was always brightest and the most transmural apical of, or at the level of, complete emptying.

CONCLUSIONS

The great majority (95%) of patients in the continuum of apical aneurysms have associated mid-LV obstruction. Further research to investigate obstruction as a contributing cause to apical aneurysms is warranted.

Pseudo-Paradoxical Jet Flow in a Patient with Midventricular Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

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Additional apical obstruction may lower LV obstruction flow velocity.

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LV systole may last to the end of IVRT.

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PSS may cause intraventricular flow.

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Isovolumic relaxation flow does not always imply the presence of apical aneurysm.

Bisoprolol Successfully Improved the Intraventricular Pressure Gradient in a Patient with Midventricular Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with an Apex Aneurysm due to Apical Myocardial Damage

Midventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MVOHCM) is a rare form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). An 80-year-old man was administered bisoprolol and warfarin therapies as treatment for MVOHCM with an apex aneurysm due to myocardial damage and intra-aneurysmal thrombus not complicated by atrial fibrillation. The pressure gradient in the midventricle successfully improved from 53.9 to 21.8 mmHg, and the intra-aneurysmal thrombus disappeared.

Left ventricular aneurysms in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy with midventricular obstruction: A systematic review of literature

BACKGROUND

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) with or without left ventricular apical aneurysm (LVA) had been studied in the past. Midventricular obstruction associated with HCM and LVA is a unique entity that has not been distinguished previously as a separate phenotypic disease in HCM patients.

METHODS

A systematic review of Pubmed and Google Scholar was conducted from inception until September 2017 for all observational studies conducted on HCM with midventricular obstruction and LVA.

RESULTS

A total of 94 patients from 39 studies were included in our analysis. The mean age of the patients was 58.05 ± 11.76 years with 59.6% being males. The most common electrocardiographic finding was T wave inversion occurring in 13.8% of the cases followed by ST elevation (9.5%). Maximal left ventricle (LV) wall thickness was reported 18.89 ± 5.19 mm on transthoracic echocardiography and paradoxical jet flow was detected in 29.8% of patients. Beta-blockers (58.5%) were the most common drug therapy at baseline and amiodarone (10.6%) was the most common antiarrhythmic used for ventricular tachycardia (VT). The most common complication, VT, occurred in 39.3% of cases and the incidence of all-cause mortality was 13.8 % over 16 ± 20.1 months follow-up. Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) was used in 37.2% of patients; 25.7% of patients with ICD received appropriate shock therapy.

CONCLUSION

HCM with LVA and midventricular obstruction is a unique entity that appears to be associated with high incidence of morbidity and mortality. Thus, early diagnosis and therapeutic intervention is recommended for management of this condition.

Mid-Ventricular Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy and Apical Aneurysm Mimicking Acute ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction

Nonischemic ST-segment elevation may be confused as acute ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI), especially in patients with atypical presenting symptoms. Among the possible differential diagnosis, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) should be considered. Mid-ventricular obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (MVOHCM) is a rare type of cardiomyopathy, accounting for approximately 5% of all HCM cases. ST-segment elevation on electrocardiogram (ECG) in patients with MVOHCM is a rare clinical presentation. We present a case of MVOHCM and apical aneurysm mimicking acute STEMI.

Systolic Flow Reversal in a Case of Mid-Ventricular Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

A 69-year-old man presented to our hospital with chest pain. Two-dimensional transthoracic echocardiography showed hypertrophy of the left ventricle, mid-ventricular obstruction and an apical aneurysm. Color-flow imaging at the obstruction site on the apical four-chamber view demonstrated systolic flow reversal in addition to a paradoxical jet flow. The systolic flow reversal may have been caused by a decreased apical contractility and pressure during systole.