Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A review of literature on clinical status and meta-analysis of diagnosis and clinical management methods

Cardiomyopathies are a major cause of heart failure and one of the leading indication for cardiac transplantation. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the second most frequently encountered phenotype of cardiomyopathy in clinical practice after dilated cardiomyopathy (DCM). Early identification and prompt treatment of patients with HCM at increased risk of death is imperative in clinical management. Thus, this article aggregates available research-based evidence to provide a comprehensive review of HCM. The goal is to advance the knowledge and understanding of HCM and improve its diagnosis and management. The review is organized into eleven main sections. The initial sections introduce and define HCM, review forms of HCM, its epidemiology (risk and prevalence rates in defined populations), clinical signs and symptoms, prognosis and risk markers. The latter sections review the pathophysiology of HCM, the etiologic agents, differential diagnosis and clinical management of HCM. The review also includes a meta-analysis of diagnostic and clinical management methods.