Key Points
- To assess the short-term and long-term effects of verapamil on left ventricular diastolic function both at rest and during isometric exercise in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
- Examined 10 patients (N=10) with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy in sinus rhythm and NYHA functional class I.
- Obtained digitized echocardiography at rest and during isometric exercise before treatment, after two weeks (short-term), and after four months (long-term) of verapamil therapy.
- Verapamil treatment significantly reduced myocardial relaxation time at rest, although several patients returned close to baseline values after initial improvement.
- Resting left ventricular filling, evaluated by peak rate of dimension change, showed a statistically significant increase following four months of long-term verapamil treatment.
- Isometric exercise elicited no significant changes in left ventricular diastolic filling or relaxation parameters across the verapamil treatment period.
Structured PICO
Does verapamil improve left ventricular diastolic function at rest and during isometric exercise in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
PPopulation10 patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, all in sinus rhythm and NYHA functional class I.
IInterventionVerapamil treatment evaluated at two weeks (short-term) and four months (long-term).
CComparatorBaseline (before treatment).
OOutcomeLeft ventricular diastolic function (myocardial relaxation time and peak rate of dimension change) measured by digitized echocardiography at rest and during isometric exercise.surrogate
Verapamil improves echocardiographic parameters of left ventricular myocardial relaxation and filling at rest, but not during isometric exercise, in patients with mildly symptomatic hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.