Diagnosis of Isolated Noncompaction of the Myocardium by Magnetic Resonance Imaging

Abstract

A 15-year-old asymptomatic, physically active man, who had a history of syncope at the age of 12 and a family history of arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia (father), presented for evaluation. Physical examination revealed no abnormal findings. The ECG demonstrated sinus rhythm, −20° QRS, incomplete right bundle-branch block, and left ventricular hypertrophy; the 24-hour Holter monitoring excluded ventricular arrhythmias. Normal exercise capacity (15 metabolic equivalent) without arrhythmias was confirmed by treadmill exercise testing. The echocardiogram showed apical hypertrophy of the left ventricle and an interatrial pseudo-aneurysm without shunt (Figure 1). To rule out right ventricular dysplasia, an ECG-gated cardiac MRI was performed. Surprisingly, the “black-blood” cardiac …