Introduction Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy (HOCM) is an important diagnosis to make, and remains a leading cause of sudden death in relatively young patients. We carried out a retrospective review of cases presenting to our hospital since the start of the cardiac MRI service.

Methods A review of cases of HOCM held on our imaging database was conducted. Data collected included patient demographics, and details of the initial imaging request. The imaging was then reviewed against the initial imaging referral and final pathology report to look at (1) the number of requests where a diagnosis of HCM with or without obstruction had been considered and (2) the underlying pathology and associated imaging findings.

Results At our institution 1 independent Cardiac MR Reporter reported 573 investigations. There were 31 confirmed cases of HCM, with 77 having considered this diagnosis in the initial imaging referral. There was only 1 case where a diagnosis of HCM had not been considered. Of these cases, there were 14 confirmed cases of HOCM, with a mean age of 69 and BMI of 30.5. The most common associated features were systolic anterior motion (16% of cases), with 1 case of an apical infarct.

Conclusion HOCM is an important diagnosis to make, with our institution seeing an average of 3.5 cases a year. The diagnosis is often considered by referring clinicians in the initial imaging request, and the associated findings are varied.