Left ventricular hypertrophy and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

eft ventricular myocardial hypertrophy (LVH) occurs in any conditions, usually, it is thought, as a secondary or compensatory” response to abnormal pressure or volume oading and to stimuli, as yet incompletely understood, esulting from deficiencies in cardiac performance (1). hese responses may be modulated by genetic predisposiions, a relationship also not well understood. “Compensaory” hypertrophy may prolong the time to symptom develpment in patients with hypertension and valvular heart iseases and may forestall development of congestive heart ailure in patients with coronary artery disease. Conversely, owever, the presence of LVH generally is evidence of an nderlying problem requiring compensation. Left ventricu-