title: "Speckled" ventricular septum in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy revisited after 30 years.
abstract: We found a highly inconsistent relation between the granular and reflective ultrasound ("speckling") pattern frequently observed in the ventricular septum of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and evidence of myocardial fibrosis by contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Therefore, this distinctive echocardiographic appearance of the myocardium does not accurately characterize left ventricular scarring and is most likely explained as an extraneous ultrasound signal pattern. In conclusion, myocardial fibrosis in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is most reliably identified using contrast-enhanced cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging.
authors.affiliation: Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Center, Minneapolis Heart Institute Foundation, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. hcm.maron@mhif.org
authors.forename: Barry J
authors.initials: BJ
authors.lastname: Maron
authors.forename: Jana
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lindberg
authors.forename: Tammy S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Haas
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kitner
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schum
authors.forename: John R
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Lesser
authors.forename: Martin S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Maron
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D002312:Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D014463:Ultrasonography; D054088:Ventricular Septum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*