Contemporary review on pediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: insights into detection and management

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common genetic cardiac disorder and is defined by the presence of left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy in the absence of a condition capable of producing such a magnitude of hypertrophy. Over the past decade, guidelines on the screening, diagnostic, and management protocols of pediatric primary (i.e., sarcomeric) HCM have undergone significant revisions. Important revisions include changes to the appropriate screening age, the role of cardiac MRI (CMR) in HCM diagnosis, and the introduction of individualized pediatric SCD risk assessment models like HCM Risk-kids and PRIMaCY. This review explores open uncertainties in pediatric HCM that merit further attention, such as the divergent American and European recommendations on CMR use in HCM screening and diagnosis, the need for incorporating key genetic and imaging parameters into HCM-Risk Kids and PRIMaCY, the best method of quantifying myocardial fibrosis and its prognostic utility in SCD prediction for pediatric HCM, devising appropriate genotype- and phenotype-based exercise recommendations, and use of heart failure medications that can reverse cardiac remodeling in pediatric HCM.