Echocardiography in the diagnosis and management of isolated left ventricular noncompaction: Case reports and review of the literature

Abstract

Isolated left ventricular noncompaction (IVNC) is a congenital cardiomyopathy characterized by a loosened spongy myocardium. Recognition of this condition is extremely important because of its high mortality and morbidity due to progressive heart failure, thromboembolic events, and ventricular arrhythmias. However, IVNC is commonly misdiagnosed because of the lack of knowledge about this rare disorder. We report 2 patients with the characteristic echocardiographic presentation for IVNC. Echocardiography is the procedure of choice to confirm the diagnosis and perform follow-up in patients with IVNC; therefore, it is important to make echocardiographers more familiar with this condition.

Echocardiography in the diagnosis left ventricular noncompaction

“…In both sets, it is important that there are no other cardiac structural abnormalities, such as semilunar valve obstruction or coronary artery anomalies. A comparison of these 2 sets of criteria is presented in Table 1 [ 10 ].…”

“…Involvement of the midventricular anterior wall, basal segments, and septum is much less frequent [ 8 ]. The segmental appearance is an important feature, because prominent trabeculae may also be seen in hypertrophied hearts [ 10 ].…”