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Stanford Health Care

Left Ventricular Non-Compaction (LVNC)

How We Can Help You

Left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) is a type of heart muscle disease, or cardiomyopathy, that we may diagnose after examining the heart’s main pumping chamber. While this chamber, the left ventricle, normally looks smooth, its muscle can occasionally appear spongy or “hypertrabeculated.”

Even with left ventricular non-compaction, some people will not develop heart problems if that is the only unusual thing about their heart. If there are also abnormalities with the heart’s pumping ability or electrical system, though, then we may diagnosis LVNC. If we do, your cardiac care team will monitor you closely for heart muscle weakness, stroke, and dangerous heart rhythms called arrhythmias.

Our team offers the guidance you need for LVNC, with leading research and deep experience providing care. We use comprehensive genetic evaluations and the latest diagnostic technology to personalize your treatment and care for family members who may also be at risk for LVNC.

What We Offer You for Left Ventricular Non-Compaction

  • Internationally recognized expertise from an experienced team providing reliable advice at one of the few centers offering specialized care.
  • Team-based approach combining cardiologists, advanced practice providers, genetic counselors, and cardiovascular registered nurses, who all focus on genetic heart disease.
  • Sophisticated diagnosis, including high-resolution cardiac magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and genetic testing interpreted by our team of experts.
  • Evidence-based treatment plans, including reevaluations of whether you need your current therapies adjusted or might benefit from cutting-edge approaches.
  • Complete family care in partnership with Stanford Children’s Hospital, so that even your youngest family members can be screened for genetic heart disease.
  • Comprehensive support, including help with medications, safe exercise, family planning, and the emotional challenges of diagnosis and treatment.

Treatment for Left Ventricular Non-Compaction

Not everyone whose left ventricle appears spongy has LVNC. Among those who have LVNC, many people have no complications and only need regular cardiology checkups. Others may need medications or additional treatment.

Our team recognizes the nuances of LVNC, ensuring you receive personalized care. You will have access to top cardiologists, electrophysiologists (arrhythmia doctors), surgeons, advanced practice providers, and imaging specialists with experience treating LVNC. Our team works together and collaborates with you to safeguard your heart health and help you lead a full, healthy life.

Our genetic counselors also have special training in the genetics of LVNC and the best ways to help you understand your family’s hereditary risk. Genetic test results can help determine a diagnosis, identify at-risk family members, and guide family planning. Learn more about our genetic counseling services »

Depending on your needs, your care plan may include one treatment approach or several:

Our team recognizes LVNC’s nuances and ensures you receive the right approach.

Monitoring

For many people, LVNC may not cause any symptoms. Therefore, your team will often recommend testing to assess your heart’s health. Testing is tailored to each person’s situation and may include echocardiograms, cardiac MRI, stress testing, 12 lead ECGs, and rhythm monitoring. These tests help diagnose LVNC and watch for potential complications.

Medications

If your team has confirmed that you have LVNC, they may recommend medications to prevent complications. One such medication might be blood thinners (anticoagulants) to reduce the risk of clots and stroke, particularly if LVNC affects the way your heart pumps. You may also receive medication to treat an irregular heart rhythm (arrhythmia) or protect your heart muscle from weakening. In some cases, heart muscle weakening and irregular heart rhythm may lead to heart failure, which is also treated with medications and lifestyle changes.

Devices and Procedures

If medications are not enough to control an irregular heart rhythm, your doctor may recommend an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) or pacemaker. These devices can manage irregular heart rhythms in cases of a life-threatening arrhythmia such as ventricular tachycardia (VT). We implant these devices using minimally invasive procedures. In other cases, we may recommend cardiac ablation.

Heart surgery

In rare cases, advanced left ventricular non-compaction may lead to severe heart failure requiring more significant interventions such as a left ventricular assist device (LVAD) or heart transplant. Stanford surgeons are internationally recognized for their expertise in these treatments, many of which were pioneered here at Stanford.

Comprehensive support

We understand that living with a chronic heart condition can present challenges. Our team includes psychologists with special training and experience in the needs of cardiovascular patients. These experts provide behavioral therapy and other services to help you adjust to your diagnosis and make important lifestyle modifications.

 Leading LVNC Research

In addition to exploring the genetic background of LVNC, we study stem cell-derived heart muscle cells to better understand the condition. We are also developing an international consortium to further examine LVNC’s genetic roots and physical manifestations.

Clinical Trials

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Open Clinical Trials

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Clinical trials are research studies that evaluate a new medical approach, test, device, or drug. As a Stanford Health Care patient, you may have access to the latest, advanced clinical trials. Open trials refer to studies currently accepting participants. Closed trials are not currently enrolling but may open in the future. Please talk to your cardiology team to learn more about clinical trials.

Open trials refer to studies currently recruiting participants or that may recruit participants in the near future. Closed trials are not currently enrolling, but similar studies may open in the future.

To learn more about the clinical trials we offer, contact CT CONTACT NAME and Phone NUMBER

Closed trials are not currently enrolling but may open in the future.

What Is Left Ventricular Non-Compaction?

Overview

As the heart develops in the womb, the heart muscle inside the baby’s left ventricle appears spongy before gradually becoming smooth and firm, a process called “compaction.” Sometimes this heart muscle compaction does not happen, leaving the left ventricle looking spongy, with crevices called trabeculations. Limited trabeculation is not usually considered a medical condition, but a higher amount may lead to a diagnosis of left ventricular non-compaction (LVNC) cardiomyopathy.

Left ventricular sponginess may not cause any symptoms or serious problems. With LVNC, however, blood clots can form in the spongy areas and lead to higher risk for stroke. Physical changes to the heart may also interfere with electrical signaling, causing a life-threatening irregular heart rhythm such as ventricular tachycardia and/or atrial fibrillation. Even with a normal heart rhythm, some people with LVNC may develop heart muscle weakness that places them at risk for heart failure.

Left ventricular non-compaction was once a rare diagnosis. Now, high-resolution imaging helps cardiology teams see trabeculation more easily and in more detail. Debate continues about the meaning of these findings and when they need treatment. Questions also remain about how to think about LVNC. Does it represent its own type of heart muscle disease or is it an early form of other cardiomyopathies such as dilated cardiomyopathy or hypertrophic cardiomyopathy? While the medical field does not yet have all the answers, we do see families with clear left ventricular non-compaction who need treatment. It takes experience to be able to identify the correct diagnosis and treatment approach.

Our Clinics

Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease

Our center provides world-leading care for genetic diseases of the heart and blood vessels. We bring together specialized cardiologists, genetic counselors, advanced practice providers, and registered nurses to provide all the support you and your family need.

Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease
300 Pasteur Drive
 Heart Clinic 1, Clinic A21
 Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-736-7878 Getting Here »
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300 Pasteur Drive
 2nd Floor
 Stanford, CA 94305
Phone: 650-723-7111
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