Isolated Left Ventricular Apical Hypoplasia with Right Ventricular Outflow Tract Obstruction: A Rare Combination

Isolated left ventricular (LV) apical hypoplasia is a unusual and recently recognized congenital cardiac anomaly. A 19-year-old man was found to have an abnormal ECG and cardiac murmur identified during a routine health check since joining work. His ECG revealed normal sinus rhythm, right-axis deviation, poor R wave progression, and T wave abnormalities. On physical examination, a 2/6 similar to 3/6 systolic murmur was heard at the second intercostal space along the left sternal border. Subsequent echocardiography and cardiac magnetic resonance imaging confirmed the LV apical hypoplasia. Of note, we first found that LV apical hypoplasia was accompanied by RV outflow tract obstruction due to exaggerated rightward bulging of the basal-anterior septum during systole. A close follow-up was performed for the development of heart failure, pulmonary hypertension, and potentially tachyarrhythmia.