How should hypertrophic cardiomyopathy be classified?: What's in a name? Dilemmas in nomenclature characterizing hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and left ventricular hypertrophy.

Almost 50 years of study have underscored the considerable heterogeneity in clinical presentation, natural history, morphology, and the genetic substrates that characterize inherited hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.1–5 Similarly, the nomenclature applied to this complex cardiac disease has persistently created a measure of confusion for both patients and physicians with regard to the definition and perceptions of the disease. This ambiguity has had, in turn, substantial impact on accurate diagnosis, full understanding of disease expression, and ultimately, decisions regarding management. At this juncture, it would seem appropriate and timely to conceptually revisit and clarify this important issue of names, consistent with the evolving knowledge of the cardiomyopathies.6