Potential applications for transesophageal echocardiography in hypertrophic cardiomyopathies.

The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the potential advantages of transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) in comparison with transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) in selected patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Ten patients with previously established or suspected diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy were examined by TEE to solve specific clinical questions. TEE was well tolerated by all patients; no arrhythmias were seen during the procedure. The comparison of TTE and TEE showed the following: Advantages of TTE--better assessment of the left ventricle, myocardial thickness measurements available in all regions and sufficient for the diagnosis of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in nine out of 10 patients; advantages of TEE--precise assessment of mitral valve morphology and regurgitant jets, detailed evaluation of systolic anterior motion, and subaortic membrane (not seen by TTE) recognized in one patient. Clinically, in three patients TEE influenced the management (mitral leaflet perforation, subaortic membrane, and residual mitral regurgitation after valvuloplasty). Thus TEE enables more precise diagnosis in some patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and has the potential to influence their surgical management. However, for medical treatment of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, TTE is sufficient.