Heart failure & cardiomyopathiesCohort study
Serial Myocardial Fibrosis Assessments Predict Outcomes in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
- Retrospective cohort study
- external validation in 6 multicentre data sets
Authors' conclusion
In HCM patients, myocardial fibrosis increased over time.
Study context
- Population
- Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients with 2 cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) studies (2010–2019)
- Participants
- 313 patients
- Exposure
- ΔLGE mass/y >1.50 g/year vs ≤1.50 g/year
- Outcome
- All-cause mortality, heart transplantation, aborted SCD, unscheduled HF hospitalisation and stroke
- Follow-up
- Median 3.4 years after second CMR
Main finding
As reported in the abstract
Hazard ratio
2.22
95% CI 1.13–4.34
P = 0.02
ΔLGE mass/y >1.50 g/year vs ΔLGE mass/y ≤1.50 g/year
HR 2.22 (95% CI 1.13–4.34); P = 0.02
- Patients reaching primary endpoint
- 69
Observational data: associations, not effects.
Secondary outcomes
LGE mass progression · median scan interval 4.2 years
Discrimination and reclassification with ΔLGE mass/y added to baseline model
- C-statistic (baseline vs added)
- 0.81 vs 0.84
- Net reclassification improvement
- 0.27
- Integrated discrimination improvement
- 0.02
- P < 0.001 for both
Secondary endpoint (all-cause mortality, aborted SCD, heart transplantation)
- Patients reaching secondary endpoint
- 17
- Optimal ΔLGE mass/y cutoff
- 3.75 g/y
Original publication
Serial Myocardial Fibrosis Assessments Predict Outcomes in Patients With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy. JACC Cardiovasc Imaging. Published 18 February 2026. doi:10.1016/j.jcmg.2026.01.008
Summarised from the published abstract; every number is checked against it