Characterisation of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy with Multiparametric Magnetic Resonance Imaging and Spectroscopy (HCM-DTI)

Research summary

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic disorder characterised by hypertrophy (thickening) of the heart muscle. It affects 1 in 500 individuals and is the commonest cause of sudden cardiac death in children and young adults. While the majority of patients remain asymptomatic, many develop complications, such as sudden death and heart failure. Reliable methods to distinguish who will remain well and who will be devastated by disease complications are lacking. Fibre disarray, a hallmark of HCM, has long been assumed to disrupt contraction, generate life-threatening heart rhythms and cause sudden death. However, demonstrating these direct links is limited to post mortem pathological analysis. The precise cause, prevalence, distribution and progression of fibre disarray in living HCM patients are completely unknown. Most recently, technological advances in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) using diffusion tensor imaging have made it possible to assess myofibre disarray in vivo in man. Myofibre disarray is the most pertinent feature of HCM, and has the potential to become a powerful new noninvasive risk marker. This study is funded by the British Heart Foundation.

Principal Investigator

Prof Stefan Neubauer

Contact us

Email: cvm_nurses@cardiov.ox.ac.uk

IRAS number

112814