Doctors at the Cleveland Clinic recently published a study in the Journal of the American Heart Association suggesting that the measurement of left ventricular global longitudinal strain (LV-GLS), as determined by routine echocardiogram, may be helpful in determining treatment strategy for patients with obstructive HCM. 

In particular, the researchers found that a poor LV-GLS measurement seemed to correlate with a higher incidence of sudden cardiac arrest and appropriate ICD discharge.  Worsening LV‐GLS of less than -14% was associated with poorer prognosis, while myectomy seemed to improve LV‐GLS.

The researchers also found that a small number of HCM patients (including post-myectomy patients) with severely reduced LV‐GLS (worse than ≈ −7%) appeared to be in need of aggressive treatment, potentially including heart transplantation.