Solving the Riddle of Sudden Cardiac Death in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: The Added Role of Cardiac Magnetic Resonance

Abstract

Cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) has been recently implemented in clinical practice to refine the daunting task of establishing the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). We present an exemplificative case highlighting the practical clinical utility of this imaging modality in a 24-year-old man newly diagnosed with an apical HCM. CMR was essential in unmasking a high risk of SCD, which appeared low-intermediate after traditional risk assessment. A discussion examines the essential role of CMR in guiding the patient’s therapy and underlines the added value of CMR, including novel and potential CMR parameters, compared to traditional imaging assessment for SCD risk stratification.

Keywords

• hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM)
• sudden cardiac death (SCD)
• cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR)
• right ventricle
• mapping
• late gadolinium enhancement (LGE)