Left ventricular hypertrophy: hypertensive or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? What a dilemma! A case report

In the presence of the left ventricle hypertrophy (LVH), the differential diagnosis with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) or some phenocopy must be always considered, which can be easily suspected when the hypertrophy is markedly asymmetric. However, when the hypertrophy is homogeneous, especially if the patient has concomitant hypertension, it may be a challenge to distinguish between hypertensive and HCM, although some clinical features may help us to suspect it. In addition, patients with HCM may present with exertional angina due to microcirculation involvement in the setting of the hypertrophy itself or dynamic obstruction in the left ventricular outflow tract, but in some cases, the presence of concomitant coronary artery disease must be suspected as the cause of angina, especially if the patient has an intermediate or high-risk probability of having ischemic heart disease. We present the case of a 46-year-old Afro-American man with poorly controlled hypertension who was found to have severe LVH, and who presented with symptoms of exertional angina during follow-up. We will review the clinical features that can help us in the differential diagnosis in this context.