Objectives: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a life-threatening genetic cardiovascular disease that often goes undetected in young athletes. Neither history nor physical examination are reliable to identify those at risk. The objective of this study is to determine whether minimally trained medical student volunteers can use ultrasound to screen for HCM. 

Methods: This was a prospective enrollment of young athletes performed at 12 area high schools and three area colleges, between May 2012 and August 2013. All participants underwent point-of-care ultrasound performed screening for HCM by trained medical students and reviewed by a pediatric cardiologist. An interventricular septum to left ventricular posterior wall ratio greater than 1.25 was considered abnormal (positive screen).

Results: A total of 2332 participants were enrolled. There were 137 (5.8%) with a positive screening for HCM, of which 7 (5.1%) were confirmed to have HCM by a pediatric cardiologist. In a small cohort with positive screen for HCM, there was a 100% sensitivity (95% confidence interval, 59.04 to 100%) and 4.86% (95% confidence interval, 1.98 to 9.76%) positive predictive value of for having HCM.

Conclusions: Volunteer medical students, using point-of-care ultrasound, were able to effectively screen for HCM in young athletes.

Uthara Mohan graduated from medical school in India and then pursued her pediatric postgraduate training in England where she earned the prestigious Membership of the Royal College of Physicians and the Royal College of Pediatrics. She also has a Diploma in Child Health from London, UK. She then did her pediatric residency in New York and her pediatric cardiology fellowship at the Cleveland Clinic, Ohio, followed by an interventional cardiology fellowship in San Diego. She is board certified in pediatrics and pediatric cardiology and is the first author of several publications. She has presented at national and international meetings and conferences and received a special research grant during her cardiology fellowship. She is affiliated with several institutions in the USA as a tutor and mentor for medical students. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Western University of Health Sciences, Pomona, California.