Efficacy and safety of myectomy and radiofrequency septal ablation for treating hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy

BACKGROUND: Novel treatments are needed for patients with severely symptomatic obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (oHCM). Radiofrequency (RF) septal ablation has emerged as a promising technique for improving the left ventricular outflow tract (LVOT) gradient and alleviating symptoms, potentially achieving outcomes comparable to the gold-standard surgical myectomy. OBJECTIVES: To compare the 1-year efficacy and safety of surgical myectomy with RF septal ablation in patients with oHCM. METHODS: This observational, retrospective cohort study included patients aged≥18 years with oHCM and an LVOT gradient≥50 mm Hg, unresponsive to medical therapy, who underwent surgical myectomy or RF septal ablation between 2012 and 2022. RESULTS: The mean age was 49.8±14 and 56.9±10.9 years for the myectomy and RF groups, respectively, with the same sex distribution. The proportions of patients in functional class III distributions were 54.5% and 76.1% in the myectomy and RF groups, respectively. The LVOT gradient was 108.6±49.8 and 101.1±40.3 mm Hg for the myectomy and RF groups, respectively. Procedural success, defined as a reduction in the LVOT gradient to <50 mm Hg or an improvement to functional class I or II, showed no significant difference between the groups (HR: -3.5; 95% CI: -20.2 to 13.12; p=0.673). Complications occurred in 57.6% and 4.6% of the patients in the myectomy and RF groups, respectively (p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: RF septal ablation and surgical myectomy demonstrated similar efficacy in reducing LVOT gradients and improving symptoms. However, RF ablation exhibited a superior safety profile.