Subendocardial ischemia in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients often develop subendocardial ischemia in the left ventricle without atherosclerotic coronary stenosis. Myocardial ischemia plays an important role in the pathophysiology of HCM, but diagnostic techniques for the detection of subendocardial ischemia have not been widely available. We developed specific techniques to quantify subendocardial ischemia on stress scintigraphy, and have compared the results with various clinical features in patients with HCM. This article reviews our understanding of subendocardial ischemia in HCM based on more than 20 years of experience.