Risk of Sudden Cardiac Death in Childhood Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Time to Solve the Mystery

Abstract

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is defined as left ventricular hypertrophy in the absence of loading conditions sufficient to cause the observed abnormality. The true prevalence in childhood is unknown; the aetiology is more heterogeneous than that seen in adult populations, and includes inborn errors of metabolism, malformation syndromes and neuromuscular syndromes. However, one of the greatest clinical challenges in managing young patients with HCM is identifying those at greatest risk of sudden cardiac death.