Abstract

GARCIA-PAREDES, T et al. Non-compacted cardiomyopathy: an uncommon cause of ventricular tachycardia. Med. Intensiva [online]. 2007, vol.31, n.5, pp.261-264. ISSN 0210-5691.

We present the case of a patient who was previously diagnosed of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The patient was admitted to our coronary unit due to a sustained ventricular tachycardia picture. A coronariography was performed as part of the ventricular tachycardia study protocol. It showed angiographically normal epicardic arteries. In the ventriculography, there was a pattern of dilated cardiomyopathy with prominent left ventricular trabeculation, which suggested the diagnosis of non-compacted cardiomyopathy (NCC). The findings of the transthoracic echocardiography, that showed a dilated and hypertrophic left ventricle, with very depressed systolic function, and ventricular myocardium with a thick internal non-compacted endocardium, with a meshwork of multiple trabeculations and intracardic recesses in communication with the ventricular cavity, confirmed this diagnosis. There continues to be little knowledge on NCC and thus it is probably underdiagnosed. It must be considered in the differential diagnosis of patients diagnosed of hypertrophic or dilated cardiomyopathy.

Keywords : spongy cardiomyopathy; non-compacted cardiomyopathy; non-compated ventricular myocardium; ventricular tachycardia.