Early outcomes of alcohol septal ablation for hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy: a European multicenter and multinational study.

Background: This study was designed to evaluate the outcomes of alcohol septal ablation (ASA) under multicenter and multinational conditions. Methods: Data for 459 patients (age 57 ± 13 years) from nine European centers were prospectively collected and retrospectively analyzed. Results: ASA led to a significant reduction in outflow gradient (PG) and dyspnea [median of PG from 88 (58–123) mm Hg to 21 (11–41) mm Hg; median of NYHA class from 3 (2–3) to 1 (1–2); P < 0.01]. The incidence of 3-month major adverse events (death, electrical cardioversion for tachyarrhythmias, resuscitation) and mortality was 2.8% and 0.7%, respectively. Permanent pacemakers for post-ASA complete heart block were implanted in 43 patients (9%). Multivariate analysis identified higher amount of alcohol (however, in generally low-dose procedures), higher baseline left ventricular ejection fraction and higher age as independent predictors of PG decrease ≥50%. Conclusions: The results of the first European multicenter and multinational study demonstrate that real-world early outcomes of ASA patients are better than was reported in observations from the first decade after ASA introduction. © 2013 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.