Long-term outcomes of septal reduction for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.

BACKGROUND: Surgical myectomy and alcohol septal ablation (ASA) aim to decrease left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). Outcome of myectomy beyond 10 years has rarely been described. We describe 20 years of follow-up of surgical myectomy and 5 years of follow-up for ASA performed for obstructive HCM. METHODS: We studied 171 patients who underwent myectomy for symptomatic LVOT obstruction between 1972 and 2006. In addition, we studied 52 patients who underwent ASA for the same indication and who declined surgery. Follow-up of New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, echocardiographic data, and vital status were obtained from patient records. Mortality rates were compared with expected mortality rates of age- and sex-matched populations. RESULTS: Surgical myectomy improved NYHA class (2.74±0.65 to 1.54±0.74, p<0.001), reduced resting gradient (67.4±43.4mmHg to 11.2±16.4mmHg, p<0.001), and inducible LVOT gradient (98.1±34.7mmHg to 33.6±34.9mmHg, p<0.001). Similarly, ASA improved functional class (2.99±0.35 to 1.5±0.74, p<0.001), resting gradient (67.1±26.9mmHg to 23.9±29.4mmHg, p<0.001) and provoked gradient (104.4±34.9mmHg to 35.5±38.6mmHg, p<0.001). Survival after myectomy at 5, 10, 15, and 20 years of follow-up was 92.9%, 81.1%, 68.9%, and 47.5%, respectively. Of note, long-term survival after myectomy was lower than for the general population [standardized mortality ratio (SMR)=1.40, p<0.005], but still compared favorably with historical data from non-operated HCM patients. Survival after ASA at 2 and 5 years was 97.8% and 94.7%, respectively. Short-term (5 year) survival after ASA (SMR=0.61, p=0.48) was comparable to that of the general population. CONCLUSION: Long-term follow-up of septal reduction strategies in obstructive HCM reveals that surgical myectomy and ASA are effective for symptom relief and LVOT gradient reduction and are associated with favorable survival. While overall prognosis for the community HCM population is similar to the general population, the need for surgical myectomy may identify a sub-group with poorer long-term prognosis. We await long-term outcomes of more extensive myectomy approaches adopted in the past 10 years at major institutions.

Most accurate definition of a high femoral artery puncture: aiming to better predict retroperitoneal hematoma in percutaneous coronary intervention.

BACKGROUND: Retroperitoneal hematoma (RPH) increases morbidity and mortality in percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI). High femoral arteriotomy is an independent predictor of RPH, but the optimal angiographic criterion for defining a high puncture is unknown. METHODS: We retrospectively identified 557 consecutive PCI cases with femoral angiograms. Arteriotomy sites were categorized as high based on three angiographic criteria: at or above the proximal third of the femoral head (criterion A), at or above the most inferior border of the inferior epigastric artery (criterion B), and at or above the origin of the inferior epigastric artery (criterion C). Cases of RPH were then identified. RESULTS: Of the 557 PCI patients, 26 had a high femoral arteriotomy by criterion A, 17 by criterion B, and 6 by criterion C. Among these patients with a high arteriotomy, RPH occurred in four with criterion A, in three with criterion B, and in one with criterion C. Of the three criteria, criterion A most strongly correlated with RPH (odds ratio [OR] 96, 95% confidence interval [CI] 10.3-898.4; p < 0.0001) compared with criterion B (OR 58, 95% CI 8.9 to 372.6; p < 0.0001) or C (OR 27, 95% CI 2.6 to 290.1; p = 0.053). All criteria had high specificity (A, 96%; B, 97%; C, 99%), but the sensitivity was higher with criterion A (80%) than criterion B (60%) or C (20%), and statistically, the use of criterion A led to the most accurate risk-stratification for RPH (A, κ = 0.79; B, κ = 0.59; C, κ = 0.19). CONCLUSIONS: Among the three common definitions of high arteriotomy, femoral artery puncture at or above the proximal third of the femoral head is the landmark that most accurately risk stratifies PCI patients for development of RPH.