Introduction. Nonpharmacological treatment of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy (HOCM) comprises surgical myectomy (SME), alcohol septal ablation (ASA), and dual-chamber (DDD) pacing.
The aim of the study was to compare the long-term effect of DDD pacing and ASA in symptomatic HOCM patients. Patients and Methods.
We evaluated retrospective data from three cardiocenters; there were 24 patients treated with DDD pacing included and 52 treated with ASA followed for 101 +/- 49 and 87 +/- 23 months, respectively. Results.
In the group treated with DDD pacing, the left ventricle outflow tract gradient (LVOTG) decreased from 82 +/- 44mmHg to 21 +/- 21mmHg, and NYHA class improved from 2.7 +/- 0.5 to 2.1 +/- 0.6 (both P < 0.001). In the ASA-treated group, a decline in LVOTG from 73 +/- 38mmHg to 24 +/- 26 mmHg and reduction in NYHA class from 2.8 +/- 0.5 to 1.7 +/- 0.8 were observed (both P < 0.001).
The LVOTG change was similar in both groups (P = 0.264), and symptoms were more affected by ASA (P = 0.001). Conclusion.
ASA and DDD pacing were similarly effective in reducing LVOTG. The symptoms improvement was more expressed in patients treated with ASA.