Letter to the Editor Left Ventricular Mechanical Dispersion for the Better Risk Stratification of Patients with Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy: Is It Possible ?

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a probable catastrophe. To predict SCD in HCM, the European Society of Cardiology introduced a risk scoring system that combined several factors such as age, the left atrial size, the maximal thickness of the left ventricular (LV) wall, the LV outflow tract gradient, a history of syncope, a family history of SCD, and the presence of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia in electrocardiography Holter monitoring.1 According to this risk scoring system, if the estimated risk of SCD in 5 years is less than 4%, the patient does not need a prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD); if it is more than 6%, the patient needs a prophylactic ICD; and if it is between 4% and 6%, the patient may require a prophylactic ICD.1 The latter class, denoting a moderate risk for SCD, requires further stratification so that clinicians can optimally determine who needs an ICD and who does not. ...