Patterns of Disease Progression in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

To aid the characterization of different phases of HCM in individual patients, we propose a simple framework for systematic clinical staging of the disease. To this purpose, 4 clinical stages are identified, with special emphasis on diagnosis, potential mechanisms, challenges for management, and targets for future investigation: these are defined as nonhypertrophic HCM, classic phenotype, adverse remodeling, and overt dysfunction.