Predicting the risk of serious complications in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Analysis of diffuse fibrosis with T1 mapping in the CMR in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCMR) study

Dr Stefan Piechnik and his team at the University of Oxford are developing new ways to predict which people with an inherited heart condition, called hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), are more at risk of complications, so doctors can treat them more effectively. People with HCM have abnormally thick heart muscle, and some develop abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). HCM is the most common cause of sudden cardiac death among young, otherwise healthy people. Currently, there are no risk scores that accurately predict which people with HCM are more likely to develop severe complications. As part of an initiative to address this, 2750 people with HCM are being recruited to a large international clinical study called HCMR, which is developing a model that better predicts risk in people with HCM. Participants undergo genetic tests and have MRI scans to examine the heart in detail. A new MRI technology, called T1-mapping, will also detect scar tissue within the heart muscle. In this project, Dr Piechnik will bring together a team of people to analyse the T1 mapping data collected in the HCMR study. They will assess the heart of HCM patients for scar tissue using the new cardiac MRI technology and combine their findings with the data from the HCMR study. With the combined datasets they hope to find new heart characteristics, or biomarkers that strongly predict a person’s risk of a major heart event in HCM. This study may identify a new risk prediction model that helps doctors treat people with HCM and identify those at risk of sudden cardiac death or heart failure.