Assessment of left ventricular global longitudinal strain in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and coronary artery disease

Impaired left ventricular global longitudinal strain (GLS) and coronary artery disease (CAD) each confer adverse prognosis in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Despite their prevalence, data on GLS in co-existent HCM and CAD is lacking. Ninety-six patients with HCM and CAD were retrospectively identified between 2005 and 2021, and analyzed using 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography. Obstructive and non-obstructive CAD patients were compared, multivariate linear regression tested associations between clinical and echocardiographic variables with GLS, and Receiver Operating Characteristic Curve assessed the utility of GLS to predict all-cause mortality at follow-up. Mean age was 71 ± 12.2 years, 41% had obstructive HCM, 78% had obstructive CAD, and 75% had prior acute coronary syndrome. At 4.8-year follow-up, GLS decreased compared with baseline (− 12.5 ± 4.5 vs. − 14 ± 4.2%, p = 0.007), with basal segments experiencing the greatest impairment. GLS was lower in obstructive versus non-obstructive CAD patients at follow-up, although the magnitude was attenuated (baseline: − 13.2 vs. − 17.1%, p < 0.001; follow-up: − 12 vs. − 14.1%, p = 0.05). Interventricular septal thickness (β = 0.54), apical HCM (β = 0.48), and right ventricular systolic pressure (β = 0.39) were associated with more impaired GLS (all p < 0.001), independent of obstructive CAD (β = 0.09, p = 0.44). There were 9 follow-up deaths, with baseline GLS > − 13.5% being a good predictor of all-cause mortality (AUC 0.78, 95% CI 0.64–0.92, sensitivity 88%, specificity 57%, p = 0.01). Patients with HCM and CAD experience progressive GLS impairment over long-term follow-up, with GLS > − 13.5% appearing to be a threshold for predicting all-cause mortality. Apical HCM phenotype is independently associated with worse GLS.