The Majority of Participants With Suspected Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Documented During Screening Echocardiography...

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Diagnostics

Background:

• Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) often presents with abnormal electrocardiograms (ECGs), typically showing left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH).
• Screening echocardiography is utilized for sudden cardiac death prevention, with ECG data collected concurrently.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine the prevalence of specific abnormal ECG findings in individuals with suspected HCM identified via screening echocardiography.
• To assess the diagnostic utility of ECG in detecting HCM.

Main Methods:

• Echocardiographic screening was performed on 682 subjects (ages 8-71) for HCM detection, defined as left ventricular wall thickness ≥15 mm.
• ECG data from these participants were analyzed for abnormalities including LVH, T wave inversion, left bundle branch block, and left atrial enlargement.

Main Results:

• LVH and T wave inversion were more prevalent in subjects with suspected HCM compared to controls (23.5% vs. 5.6% and 17.6% vs. 4.1%, respectively).
• Overall abnormal ECG findings (LVH or T wave inversion) were present in less than 25% of HCM subjects.
• Left bundle branch block and abnormal left atrium findings were absent in all participants with suspected HCM.

Conclusions:

• The prevalence of abnormal ECG findings in individuals with suspected HCM detected by echocardiography is below 25%.
• ECG alone is not a sufficiently sensitive diagnostic tool for the detection of HCM.