Apexcardiographic Flutter Waves in Surgically Treated Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

A case of hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy is described. In this case, atrial contractions during atrial flutter were sufficiently slow and vigorous, and the ventricles sufficiently rigid, for the flutter to be clearly imprinted in the apexcardiogram throughout the cardiac cycle. This is considered to be due to the presence of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The apexcardiographic Fwave appears earlier in systole than in diastole, perhaps because of the differences in elasticity in different phases of the cardiac cycle.