Some individuals with left ventricular noncompaction experience no symptoms at all; others have heart problems that can include sudden cardiac death. Additional signs and symptoms include abnormal blood clots, irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia), a sensation of fluttering or pounding in the chest (palpitations), extreme fatigue during exercise (exercise intolerance), shortness of breath (dyspnea), fainting (syncope), swelling of the legs (lymphedema), and trouble laying down flat. Some affected individuals have features of other heart defects. Left ventricular noncompaction can be diagnosed at any age, from birth to late adulthood. Approximately two-thirds of individuals with left ventricular noncompaction develop heart failure.\n\nLeft ventricular noncompaction is a heart (cardiac) muscle disorder that occurs when the lower left chamber of the heart (left ventricle), which helps the heart pump blood, does not develop correctly. Instead of the muscle being smooth and firm, the cardiac muscle in the left ventricle is thick and appears spongy. The abnormal cardiac muscle is weak and has an impaired ability to pump blood because it either cannot completely contract or it cannot completely relax. For the heart to pump blood normally, cardiac muscle must contract and relax fully.

CMH27 is a severe, early-onset cardiomyopathy with morphologic features of both dilated and hypertrophic disease, characterized by biventricular involvement and atypical distribution of hypertrophy. Heterozygotes are at increased risk of developing cardiomyopathy (Almomani et al., 2016). For a general phenotypic description and a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, see CMH1 (192600). An oligogenic form of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, involving heterozygous mutations in the ALPK3, TTN (188840), and MYL3 (160790) genes has also been reported in 1 family.

Cardiac valvular dysplasia-2 (CVDP2) is characterized primarily by congenital stenosis and insufficiency of the semilunar valves, although mild insufficiency of the atrioventricular valves has been observed as well. Other features include subaortic stenosis and dilation of the ascending aorta and/or pulmonary artery in some patients (Wunnemann et al., 2020; Massadeh et al., 2020). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of CVDP, see CVDP1 (212093).

Autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy-28 (LGMDR28) is characterized by progressive muscle weakness affecting the proximal and axial muscles of the upper and lower limbs. The age at onset is highly variable, usually in the first decade, although onset in the fourth decade has also been reported. The disorder can be rapidly progressive or show a slower course. Most patients have limited ambulation or become wheelchair-bound within a few decades, and respiratory insufficiency commonly occurs. Laboratory studies show increased serum creatine kinase and elevated fasting blood glucose levels, although cholesterol is normal. EMG shows a myopathic pattern; muscle biopsy is generally unremarkable, but can show nonspecific myopathic or dystrophic features (Yogev et al., 2023; Morales-Rosado et al., 2023). For a discussion of genetic heterogeneity of autosomal recessive limb-girdle muscular dystrophy, see LGMDR1 (253600).