title: Prevalence and characteristics of left ventricular noncompaction in a community hospital cohort of patients with systolic dysfunction.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Left ventricular noncompaction (LVNC) is felt to be a rare form of cardiomyopathy, although its prevalence in a nonreferred population is unknown. We examined the prevalence and clinical characteristics of LVNC in a community hospital cohort of adult patients with echocardiographic evidence of left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction.
  
  
  METHODS
  All adult echocardiograms with global LV dysfunction and an LVEF < or = 45% over a 1-year period were reviewed for signs of LV noncompaction. Its presence was confirmed by the consensus of at least 2/3 readers specifically searching for this using standard criteria for noncompaction.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A 3.7% prevalence of definite or probable LVNC was found in those with LVEF < or = 45% and a 0.26% prevalence for all patients referred for echocardiography during this period. This is appreciably higher than prior reports from tertiary centers.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Noncompaction may not be a rare phenomenon and is comparable to other more widely recognized but less common causes of heart failure such as peripartum myopathy, connective tissue diseases, chronic substance abuse and HIV disease.
authors.affiliation: Case Western Reserve University at MetroHealth Medical Center, Cleveland, Ohio 44109, USA.
authors.forename: Roopinder
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Sandhu
authors.forename: Robert S
authors.initials: RS
authors.lastname: Finkelhor
authors.forename: Diyana R
authors.initials: DR
authors.lastname: Gunawardena
authors.forename: Robert C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Bahler
mesh_terms: D000704:Analysis of Variance; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D015331:Cohort Studies; D005260:Female; D006764:Hospitals, Community; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009820:Ohio / Q000453:epidemiology; D015995:Prevalence; D013599:Systole; D014463:Ultrasonography; D018487:Ventricular Dysfunction, Left / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology*