Necropsy finding in a patient with apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

Whether apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a variant of classic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy or a separate entity is controversial. This is a case report of an apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The patient was a 67-year-old man associated with giant negative T waves in electrocardiogram and asymmetric apical hypertrophy on echocardiogram. He died of liver cirrhosis and liver cell carcinoma. At necropsy the heart showed apical hypertrophy grossly and extensive disarray of myocardial fibers near the apex of the left ventricle histologically. The necropsy findings were indistinguishable from those of classic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This suggests that apical hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is a variant of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.