Good transplant outcomes in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

(HealthDay) -- Post-heart transplant survival does not differ significantly between patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HC) and those with other types of heart disease, according to a study published in the Aug. 15 issue of The American Journal of Cardiology.

To elucidate the post-transplant prognosis for patients with HC, Tomoko S. Kato, M.D., Ph.D., from Columbia University in New York City, and colleagues retrospectively reviewed 813 consecutive transplant recipients undergoing cardiac transplantation from 1999 to 2010. The clinical course was compared for 41 patients with idiopathic HC, 373 patients with ischemic heart disease, and 398 patients with other heart disease.

The researchers found that the HC patients were significantly younger than those with ischemic heart disease (47.8 ± 14.0 versus 57.1 ± 9.4 years). Compared with patients with ischemic heart disease or other heart disease, a significantly lower proportion of patients with HC underwent ventricular assist device surgery for bridge-to-transplant (14.6 percent versus 31.1 and 35.7 percent, respectively). Patients with HC had better post-transplant survival than that those with ischemic heart disease at one and five years (P = 0.0359), although survival did not differ significantly from those with other heart disease. Reduced post-transplant survival was seen for those with HC on univariate, but not multivariate, analyses. Most patients with HC had non-dilated left ventricles, and post-transplant survival was similar for those with dilated and non-dilated left ventricles.

"In conclusion, the post-transplant survival of those with HC did not differ from those of the subjects who underwent transplant for other non-HC indications," the authors write.

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