Non compaction cardiomyopathy: Review of a controversial entity

Left Ventricular Non-compaction Cardiomyopathy: Delayed Diagnosis and Deleterious Outcomes

Cardiomyopathy and associated heart failure have uncommon etiologies, which when diagnosed reduce patients’ morbidity and mortality. One such entity is left ventricular non-compaction cardiomyopathy (LVNC). Still, a relatively uncommon entity, the manifestation of LVNC may range from asymptomatic to left ventricular dysfunction, congestive heart failure, ventricular tachycardia, sudden cardiac death, and thromboembolic complications. If not pursued as a possible etiology of non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, patients may have significantly increased morbidity prior to eventual diagnosis. Patients are often predisposed to ventricular arrhythmias requiring implantable cardiac defibrillator placement. Additionally, due to the depth of trabeculations, there is an associated thromboembolic risk requiring therapeutic anticoagulation. We present the case of a 41-year-old man with progressively worsening heart failure due to undiagnosed LVNC and the associated deleterious manifestations and outcomes.