Isolated Left Ventricular Noncompaction as a Cause for Heart Failure and Heart Transplantation: A Single Center Experience

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of isolated left ventricular noncompaction (IVNC) as a cause of heart failure and heart transplantation. Methods: There were 960 patients seen in the heart failure clinic from 1987 to 2005, with a complete evaluation including echocardiography at our center (study population, 82% men, mean age 52 years). The following data were collected: type of heart disease, age at echocardiography and at heart transplantation, and frequency of heart transplantation. Echocardiographic diagnosis of IVNC was based on our published criteria. Results: The etiologies of heart failure were coronary artery disease (CAD; 37%), idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (33%), valvular heart disease (11%), congenital heart disease (5%), IVNC (3%), hypertensive heart disease ( 3%), hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (2%), myocarditis (1%), and < 1% other diagnoses. Heart transplantation was performed in 253 patients (26%) due to idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy (42%), CAD (39%), valvular heart disease ( 5%), congenital heart disease ( 5%), IVNC (2%), or other etiologies (<= 1% each). Conclusions: The most common causes for heart failure remain idiopathic