Background: Alcohol septal ablation (ASA) is an accepted treatment for medically refractory hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM). The procedural and medium-term outcomes have been reassuring. The iatrogenic targeted septal infarction has raised theoretical concerns about risk of arrhythmia and long-term survival. In this study, we describe the long-term survival in a large cohort of patients from a single referral center and the iterative improvement in procedural technique since its inception.
Methods: This cohort includes 580 consecutive patients who underwent 664 ASA procedures between the years 1999 and 2015. Procedural details and outcomes are described. Long-term survival is compared with expected survival of demographically similar controls.
Results: Fifty-four percent were women and 85% were Caucasian. At the time of ablation, mean age was 57 ± 15 years, septal thickness was 2.1 ± 0.5 cm, and left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient was 72 ± 40 mm Hg at rest and 102 ± 58 mm Hg with Valsalva provocation. Mean follow-up was 8.0 ± 4.3 years. LVOT gradient reduction >50% was achieved in 94% of patients with reduction in New York Heart Association functional class scores and increase in exercise treadmill duration. Procedural mortality was 0.9%. Over the 16-year period, survival estimates at 1, 5, 10, and 15 years were 98%, 92%, 84%, and 81%, respectively, which are comparable to demographically similar controls. The standardized mortality ratio was 0.84 (95% confidence interval, 0.66-1.06); P=.09.
Conclusions: ASA appears to be a safe and effective treatment for symptomatic HOCM refractory to medical therapy with long-term survival comparable to a demographically similar United States population.
Keywords: alcohol septal ablation; hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy; outcomes; septal reduction.