title: Noncompaction cardiomyopathy: a substrate for a thromboembolic event.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Noncompaction cardiomyopathy (NCC) is a rare genetic cardiomyopathy characterized by a thin, compacted epicardial layer and an extensive noncompacted endocardial layer. The clinical manifestations of this disease include ventricular arrhythmia, heart failure, and systemic thromboembolism.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 43-year-old male was anticoagulated by pulmonary thromboembolism for 1 year when he developed progressive dyspnea. Cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging showed severe biventricular trabeculation with an ejection fraction of 15%, ratio of maximum noncompacted/compacted diastolic myocardial thickness of 3.2 and the presence of exuberant biventricular apical thrombus.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Still under discussion is the issue of which patients and when they should be anticoagulated. It is generally recommended to those presenting ventricular systolic dysfunction, antecedent of systemic embolism, presence of cardiac thrombus and atrial fibrillation. In clinical practice the patients with NCC and ventricular dysfunction have been given oral anticoagulation, although there are no clinical trials showing the real safety and benefit of this treatment.
authors.affiliation: Heart Institute (InCor) do Hospital das Clínicas da Faculdade de Medicina da Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil. marcelo_dtm@yahoo.com.br.
authors.forename: Marcelo Dantas
authors.initials: MD
authors.lastname: Tavares de Melo
authors.forename: José Arimateia Batista
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: de Araújo Filho
authors.forename: Jose Rodrigues
authors.initials: JR
authors.lastname: Parga Filho
authors.forename: Camila Rocon
authors.initials: CR
authors.lastname: de Lima
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Mady
authors.forename: Roberto
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Kalil-Filho
authors.forename: Vera Maria Cury
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Salemi
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001146:Arrhythmia, Sinus / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D009202:Cardiomyopathies / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis*; D017023:Coronary Angiography; D003328:Coronary Thrombosis / Q000209:etiology*; D004452:Echocardiography; D006321:Heart / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D018810:Magnetic Resonance Angiography; D008297:Male; D009206:Myocardium / Q000473:pathology; D011655:Pulmonary Embolism / Q000209:etiology*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed; D018754:Ventricular Dysfunction / Q000209:etiology*