Structural abnormalities of the left ventricle in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy mutation carriers detectable before the development of hypertrophy

>Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common hereditary disease, with a prevalence of 1:500 in the general population. 1,2 HCM is clinically diagnosed by the presence of – often asymmetrical – left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy in the absence of a disease likely to cause this hypertrophy, such as diabetes mellitus, hypertension and/or aortic valve stenosis.