State-of-the-Art Prevention of Heart Failure: Maladaptive versus Adaptive Hypertrophy

Hypertrophy is the response of cardiac muscle to altered hemodynamic loads. The increase in ventricular wall thickness normalizes increased wall stress and, therefore, hypertrophy is initially beneficial. However, progressive hypertrophy is associated with deleterious long-term consequences that significantly increase the risk of mortality. This review outlines the events associated with hypertrophy and discusses how strategies can be aimed at preventing pathological hypertrophy. The fact that heart failure is one of the leading causes of death in the West demands a detailed understanding of the complexities underlying this response. Complete dissection of hypertrophy will aid the development of novel therapeutic approaches that could take advantage of its beneficial features while removing the deleterious consequences caused by hypertrophic growth of the heart. Heart Fail Monit 2008;5(4):112-8.