Comparison of phenotypic expression of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in patients from the United States and Germany.

A comparison of patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in the United States and Germany showed significant differences in phenotypic expression. While it is unresolved whether these observed morphologic differences were due to racial and genetic factors, or alternatively to patient selection, the awareness of such heterogeneity in the phenotypic expression of HC is relevant to interpreting clinical studies from different regions of the world.