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Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic disease associated with highly variable phenotypic expression. The natural history ranges from quite benign (some patients may live beyond age 80 with few or no clinical manifestations) to very malignant (sudden cardiac death, severe heart failure, stroke, or other complications, which may occur at any age). This is one of the largest studies reporting risk factors for stroke in HCM patients.
Data from 900 HCM patients (age range, 29 to 86; 61% male) from 4 centers were retrospectively evaluated; mean follow-up was 7 years. Most patients (92%) initially were asymptomatic or had only mild symptoms. By last evaluation, 51 patients (6%) had suffered 1 or more cerebrovascular (44) or other periphera…