[Sudden death and obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy]

Sudden death is the most common cause of death in obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathies. Ventricular arrhythmias appear to be involved most frequently. The typical clinical picture is that of a young, asymptomatic male subject with a family history of sudden death and obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The electrocardiogram at rest, the left ventricular pressure gradient, and the width of the septum are not good predictive criteria. Holter monitoring with the discovery of a run of ventricular tachycardia is the only method which identifies a subgroup at high risk for sudden death. Treatment with beta blockers does not protect patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy from sudden death and only combined therapy with an antiarrhythmic agent can control ventricular rhythm disturbances and decrease the number of sudden deaths in this condition.