Background: The clinical, morphological, and electrocardiographical relevance of delayed enhancement (DE) in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) was studied in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
Methods and results: A total of 56 patients underwent both gadolinium-enhanced CMR and 12-lead electrocardiogram. The CMR demonstrated DE at the left ventricular (LV) wall in 39 patients. The patients with DE included more cases with dilated phase of HCM, higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) classes and incidence of ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VT), lower LV ejection fraction (LVEF) and mean LV wall thickness (WT), and a larger ratio of maximum to minimum LVWT. The QRS duration was prolonged and the QRS axis deviated toward left with increases in the DE volume (r = 0.58 and r = 0.41, P < .01). Abnormal Q waves were present in 5 patients and the location coincided with the DE segments in 4 patients, but the concordance was not significant. The amplitude of T waves correlated with the ratio of the apex to basal LVWT (r = 0.38, P < .01) and was more negative in cases with DE at the apex.
Conclusions: In HCM, the DE was associated with higher NYHA classes and prevalence of VT, impaired global LV function and asymmetrical hypertrophy, and conduction disturbance, abnormal Q waves, and giant negative T waves.