Atrial fibrillation in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: A turning point towards increased morbidity and mortality

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Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation
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Estimating Bilateral Atrial Function by Cardiovascular Magnetic Resonance Feature Tracking in Patients with Paroxysmal Atrial Fibrillation

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Thomas Zegkos1, Georgios K Efthimiadis1, Despoina G Parcharidou1

  • 11(st) Cardiology Department, AHEPA University Hospital, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Thessaloniki, Greece.

Hellenic Journal of Cardiology : HJC = Hellenike Kardiologike Epitheorese
|February 22, 2017
PubMed

Insights

Atrial fibrillation (AF) significantly increases mortality in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients. Larger left atrial size predicts both AF and stroke, highlighting its prognostic importance in HCM management.

Area of Science:

  • Cardiology
  • Internal Medicine
  • Genetics

Background:

  • Atrial fibrillation (AF) is a common arrhythmia in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).
  • Understanding the impact of AF on HCM prognosis is crucial for patient management.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To investigate the clinical impact and prognostic significance of AF in a large cohort of HCM patients.
  • To identify predictors of AF and thromboembolic stroke in HCM.

Main Methods:

  • Retrospective analysis of 509 HCM patients.
  • Evaluation of echocardiographic and clinical data.
  • Assessment of AF, stroke risk factors, and mortality outcomes.

Main Results:

  • 23.4% of HCM patients had AF, with higher stroke prevalence and worse functional status.
  • Left atrial (LA) size independently predicted AF and stroke.
  • AF was a significant risk factor for overall, HCM-related, and heart failure-related mortality, but not sudden death.

Conclusions:

  • LA size is a key predictor for both AF and thromboembolic stroke in HCM.
  • AF is associated with substantially increased mortality rates in HCM patients, irrespective of AF type.
Abstract

Keywords:
atrial fibrillationhypertrophic cardiomyopathyleft atriummorbiditymortality

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