Objective- Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a reportedly uncommon genetic disorder of endocardial morphogenesis and is being increasingly recognized. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the echocardiographic features, including mechanical dyssynchrony indices of patients with LVNC versus idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (IDC).
Methods- Between December 2004 and February 2006, we evaluated 116 patients with dilated cardiomyopathy candidated for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) at our institution. The patients were divided into LVNC and IDC without LVNC groups, according to the diagnostic criteria for LVNC. Transthoracic echocardiography was done for all the patients, and pre-ejection periods as well as inter- and intra-ventricular delays were measured and the asynchrony index was calculated.
Results- Seventy-seven patients were male. LVNC was diagnosed in 23% of the patients. There was no significant difference in the patients’ age and mean age of the patients (46±16.5 years in LVNC vs. 51.13±16.43 years in IDC). Mean left ventricular ejection fraction in the LVNC group was 16.65%±6.6% and in the IDC group it was 18.91%±7.2%; mean age in the LVNC group was 46±16.5 years and 51.13±16.43 years in the IDC group, with no significant difference between the two groups.
Conclusion- LVNC is increasingly being reported and has become an important differential diagnosis in heart failure patients. Our study showed that there was no significant difference in the mechanical dyssynchrony indices between the two groups.