Background: The clinical efficacy of alcohol septal ablation for obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) has been demonstrated, but the long-term effects of the procedure remain uncertain. This study examined the survival of patients after septal ablation performed in a tertiary HCM referral center.
Methods and results: We examined 177 patients (mean age, 64 years; 68% women) who underwent septal ablation at our institution. Over a follow-up of 5.7 years, survival free of all mortality was no different than the expected survival for a comparable general population, and similar to that of age- and sex-matched patients who underwent isolated surgical myectomy (8-year survival estimate, 79% versus 79%; P=0.64). For the end point of documented sudden cardiac death or unknown cause of death, the incidence per 100 person-year follow-up was 1.31 (95% confidence interval, 0.60-2.38). Residual left ventricular outflow tract gradient after ablation was an independent predictor of long-term survival free of any death.
Conclusions: In this nonrandomized study of carefully selected patients undergoing septal ablation by experienced operators in a tertiary referral HCM center, long-term survival was favorable and similar to that of an age- and sex-matched general population, and to patients undergoing surgical myectomy, as well, without an increased risk of sudden cardiac death.