Sharif Nagueh, MD, director of cardiovascular echocardiography, T.L.L Temple/William H. Spencer, MD Chair in Clinical Cardiology, Dipan Shah, MD, chief of the division of cardiovascular imaging, Beverly B. and Daniel C. Arnold Distinguished Centennial Chair, and colleagues studied the hemodynamic determinants of the left atrial (LA) reservoir, conduit and pump strain in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) and found that left ventricular (LV) structure, systolic and diastolic function, and LA systolic function determine the three components of LA strain. LA strain is associated with exercise tolerance and clinical events in patients with HCM. This is an important contribution because HCM is the most common inherited cardiomyopathy and a known cause of sudden cardiac death and heart failure.

The study evaluated 50 HCM patients with echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging. Of those, 26 patients agreed to cardiopulmonary stress testing. See the study for a detailed analysis of findings in PLoS One, online February 10, 2021.