Long-term course and cardiac sympathetic nerve activity in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the relation between regional myocardial sympathetic nerve activity and the electrocardiographic and cardiac functional changes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. DESIGN: A retrospective study to compare the findings of myocardial scintigraphy with iodine-123 metaiodobenzylguanidine (MIBG) and the serial electrocardiographic changes. SETTING: Myocardial scintigraphy was performed with iodine-123 MIBG and thallium-201 and single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT) in the division of nuclear medicine of Kanazawa University Hospital. Both SPECT studies were performed within a week. PATIENTS: 22 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy classified according to their serial electrocardiographic changes--namely, 15 patients with an increase in or the appearance of a negative T wave (group A) and seven patients with a conduction disturbance or a decrease in or disappearance of the negative T wave (group B). The mean follow up period was 45 (range 12-143) months. RESULTS: Group B showed a high rate of decreased activity or defects in MIBG uptake compared with group A (p less than 0.005). The areas of decreased activity or defects corresponded with the hypertrophied portion of the left ventricular wall. Although the early myocardial uptake (MIBG: thallium ratio) was similar in both groups, the mean (SD) MIBG clearance rate was significantly higher (p less than 0.05) in group B (0.25 (0.17)) than in group A (0.10 (0.15)). CONCLUSION: Abnormalities of regional myocardial sympathetic nerve activity may be important in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and suspected progression of myocardial damage.