Effect of age on mortality experience in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Medical authors typically combine all patient groups to increase the amount of data available for analysis. Use of this statistical methodology generally conceals higher mortality ratios at younger ages and masks survival differences related to disease severity and comorbid impairments. This paper discusses the effects of age and clinical characteristics on mortality experience in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Limited data suggest the mortality pattern associated with this impairment is similar to that observed with most disorders: excess mortality (compared to the general population) that is high at younger ages, intermediate in middle-aged people, and minimal in the very elderly. Optimism regarding generally favorable mortality at older ages must be tempered with caution since studies report much poorer experience in certain subgroups of elderly patients with this impairment.