Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy - in Children

In Children

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is one of the most uncommon cardiac malformations encountered in pediatric cardiology. This attributed largely to the phenotypes is usually absent, incomplete, or delayed into adulthood. Most of current information pertaining HCM arises from studies in adult populations, and the implication of these observations for pediatric population is often uncertain. Nonetheless, recent studies in pediatric cardiology have revealed that HCM accounts for 42% of childhood cardiomyopathies with an incidence report of 0.47/100,000 in children. Further, in asymptomatic cases, sudden death is considered one of the most feared complications associated with the disease in select pediatric population. Consequently, the recommended practice is to start screening children of affected individuals throughout childhood to detect cardiac abnormalities at an early stage in hope to prevent further complication of the disease.

Generally, the diagnosis of HCM in a pediatric population is made during assessment for murmur, congestive heart failure, physical exhaustion, and genetic testing of children of affected individuals. Specifically, echocardiogram (ECHO) has been used as a definitive noninvasive diagnostic tool in nearly all children. ECHO assesses cardiac ventricular size, wall thickness, systolic and diastolic function, and outflow obstruction. Thus, ECHO has been chosen as an ideal means to detect excessive wall thickening of cardiac muscle in HCM.

In HCM, treatment strategies aimed to reduce disease symptoms and lower the risk of sudden death. Due to the heterogeneity of the disease, treatment is usually modified according to individual patients needs. β-blockers improve left ventricular filling and relaxation and thereby improve symptoms. In some pediatric patients, β–blockers drugs (e.g. propranolol) were shown to effectively reduce the risk of sudden death. Further, calcium channel blockers (verapamil) and antiarrhythmic drugs maybe used as an adjunct therapy to β-blockers in symptomatic children. Nonetheless, further testing is needed to determine their definitive benefits.