Left Ventricular Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy: The Tragedies & Trabeculations of the Architectural Cardiac Sponge

Left-ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a recently classified cardiomyopathy that involves abnormal trabeculations inside the left ventricle, most commonly located in the ventricular apex. There are 9 distinct types of non-compaction cardiomyopathy that can impact both the left and right ventricles with subtypes involving mostly pediatric patients with concurrent congenital heart disease (CHD), to individuals in late adult-staged ages. LVNC affects the population with an estimated range of incidence from 0.014% to 1.3% and the disease can be diagnosed with the utilization of imaging studies such as transthoracic echocardiography (TTE). LVNC can also impact and lead patients to develop heart failure with estimated prevalence that can reach to 3-4% during their lifetime. LVNC often leads to complications such as heart failure, arrhythmias, and thromboembolic events and without adequate medical management and pharmacological therapies this can progress and lead to worsening cardiac function, sudden cardiac arrest, and even death. There are no strict guidelines organized for screening and monitoring for LVNC in patients except with the inclusion of having a high suspicion in patients without other cardiac abnormalities. Thus, more advanced clinical research and the establishment of diagnostic protocols needs to be standardized in order to further investigate the causes, prognostic factors and therapeutic modalities of patients with LVNC. The field of LVNC cardiomyopathy is expanding but better understanding of the pathophysiology and genetic influence of this cardiac disease is vital for the precision treatment and personalized care of LVNC.