Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A heterogeneous and complex disease

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a very heterogeneous disorder with respect to symptoms, phenotype, and genotype. Sudden cardiac death (SCD) can be the first manifestation of HCM. Repeated evaluation of the cardiac phenotype and risk stratification for SCD are essential for optimal patient management. HCM is inherited as an autosomal-dominant trait; at least first-line relatives of index patients should be screened for the presence of HCM. Modern genetic techniques, genotype-phenotype correlation studies, and the analysis of clinical data from informative HCM families will help in the future to better identify HCM patients at high risk of SCD.