Genetic causes of inherited cardiac hypertrophy: Robert L. Frye Lecture.

Cardiac hypertrophy is well recognized as a cardiac manifestation of systemic disorders such as hypertension or intrinsic myocardial disease, but it can also reflect an underlying genetic defect. Molecular studies of inherited forms of cardiac hypertrophy have defined 2 novel pathways that lead to cardiac remodeling in adults, discoveries that increasingly provide insights relevant for both diagnosis and management. This article reviews the genetic studies that led to the current molecular understanding of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy and discusses more recently discovered causes of inherited cardiac hypertrophy.