Contemporary applications of echocardiography in the diagnosis and management of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is an inherited form of cardiomyopathy characterized predominantly by asymmetric myocardial hypertrophy. The condition demonstrates substantial clinical heterogeneity and is associated with an increased risk of adverse outcomes, including heart failure, cardiac arrhythmias, and sudden cardiac death. Accurate diagnosis and comprehensive management are therefore critical for optimizing clinical outcomes in affected individuals. Echocardiography, owing to its noninvasive nature, wide availability, and capacity for real-time assessment, serves as a central imaging modality in the diagnostic evaluation and management continuum of HCM. Recent developments in echocardiographic technology, including conventional modalities, speckle tracking imaging, three-dimensional echocardiography, and contrast-enhanced echocardiography, have expanded the role of this technique in disease detection, phenotypic classification, functional assessment, prognostic stratification, and therapeutic decision-making. This review summarizes current advances in echocardiographic applications in HCM and highlights their clinical utility in supporting optimized diagnostic and management strategies.