BACKGROUND: About 30% of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) have dynamic obstruction of the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT). Symptomatic patients are treated with negative inotropic agents, however, some patients do not respond to medical therapy. Surgical myectomy was the standard therapy for these patients until the nineties. Percutaneous alcohol septal ablation (ASA) was introduced as a less invasive alternative therapy. This study was aimed at assessing the clinical course of patients undergoing ASA at our center METHOD: Seven patients with HOCM were included and intraventricular gradients and quality of life before and after ASA were evaluated. Mean follow-up was 3.3 ± 1.8 years RESULTS: There was a significant improvement in the New York Heart Association (NYHA) class during the followup. The mean LVOT gradient before ASA at rest was 67 ±22 mmHg and 131 ± 27 mmHg with Valsalva maneuver. In the late follow-up, the mean LVOT gradient at rest was 33 ± 37 mmHg and 37 ± 47 mmHg with Valsalva maneuver. Peak oxygen uptake was 14.7 ml/min prior ASA, increasing to 25.4 ml/min during the follow-up CONCLUSION: In our study, ASA was a safe and effective treatment for HOCM providing substantial relief of symptoms, outflow tract obstruction and improvement of exercise capacity and quality of life with low complication rates.
Cardiomyopathy, hypertrophic; Ablation techniques; Complementary therapies; Quality of life
