Confirmation of the presence and magnitude of left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) obstruction is a critical component of the evaluation of symptoms in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The presence of LVOT obstruction in patients with severe symptoms refractory to pharmacologic therapy identifies a subgroup of HCM patients who may benefit from septal reduction therapy. Two-dimensional echocardiography with continuous wave Doppler is the main tool for confirming the presence and severity of LVOT obstruction in HCM. However, when uncertainty remains following non-invasive evaluation, invasive hemodynamics studies are required to confirm and quantify LVOT obstruction. In this manuscript we describe a series of 6 cases in which hemodynamic catheterization is instrumental in supplementing non-invasive imaging in the assessment of LVOT obstruction in HCM.
Keywords: cardiomyopathy; catheterization; diagnostic; hemodynamics; hypertrophic; transeptal.
© 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.