Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: New Clinical and Therapeutic Perspectives of an "Old" Genetic Myocardial Disease.

Abstract

Since its first pathological description over 65 years ago, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), with a worldwide prevalence of 1:500, has emerged as the most common genetically determined cardiac disease. Diagnostic work-up has dramatically improved over the last decades, from clinical suspicion and abnormal electrocardiographic findings to hemodynamic studies, echocardiography, contrast-enhanced cardiac magnetic resonance, and genetic testing. The implementation of screening programs and the use of implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) for high-risk individuals have notably reduced arrhythmic sudden deaths, altering the disease's mortality profile. Therapeutic breakthroughs, including surgical myectomy, alcohol septal ablation, and the novel introduction of "myosin inhibitors", have revolutionized symptom management and reduced progression to advanced heart failure (HF) and death. Despite this progress, refractory HF-both with preserved and reduced systolic function-has become the predominant cause of HCM-related mortality. While most patients with HCM experience a favorable clinical course with low morbidity and mortality, timely identification and targeted treatment of high-risk subgroups progressing toward progressive HF remain a pressing challenge, even for expert clinicians.