Case report
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and ultra-endurance running - two incompatible entities?
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* Corresponding author: Sanjay Sharma sanjay.sharma091064@googlemail.com
1 ASPETAR, Qatar Orthopaedic and Sports Medicine Hospital, Doha, Qatar
2 St George's University of London, Division of Cardiac & Vascular Sciences, London, UK
3 St Vincent's University Hospital and The Blackrock Clinic, Dublin, Ireland
4 Royal Brompton and Harefield NHS Trust, London, UK
Journal of Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance 2011, 13:77 doi:10.1186/1532-429X-13-77
Published: 29 November 2011Abstract
Regular and prolonged exercise is associated with increased left ventricular wall thickness that can overlap with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Differentiating physiological from pathological hypertrophy has important implications, since HCM is the commonest cause of exercise-related sudden cardiac death in young individuals. Most deaths have been reported in intermittent 'start-stop' sports such as football (soccer) and basketball. The theory is that individuals with HCM are unable to augment stroke volume sufficiently to meet the demands of endurance sports and are accordingly 'selected-out' of participation in such events. We report the case of an ultra-endurance athlete with 25 years of > 50 km competitive running experience, with genetically confirmed HCM; thereby demonstrating that these can be two compatible entities.