Impact of Sex on Clinical Course and Survival in the Contemporary Treatment Era for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

Background The relation of sex to clinical presentation and course in hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) remains incompletely resolved. We assessed differences in clinical outcomes between men and women within our large HCM cohort. Methods and Results Of 2123 consecutive patients, a minority (38%) were women who were diagnosed with HCM at older ages or referred for subspecialty evaluation later than men (50±19 versus 44±16 and 55±18 versus 49±16; P<0.001). Women more commonly developed advanced New York Heart Association class III/IV symptoms (53% versus 35% in men; P<0.001), predominantly secondary to outflow obstruction. While end-stage heart failure with systolic dysfunction (ejection fraction <50%) was similar in men (5% versus 4% in women; P=0.33), women were 3-fold more likely to develop heart failure with preserved systolic function (7.5% versus 2.6%; P=0.002). Sudden death events terminated by defibrillator therapy were similar in women (0.9%/year) versus men (1.0%/year; hazard ratio, 0.92; 95% CI, 0.6-1.5; P=0.73). HCM mortality was uncommon, with identical rates in both sexes (0.3%/year; hazard ratio, 1.5; 95% CI, 0.7-3.4;, P=0.25). Age-adjusted all-cause mortality also did not differ between women and men (1.7% versus 1.3%/year; hazard ratio, 1.32; 95% CI, 0.92-1.91; P=0.13). Conclusions Survival was not less favorable in women with HCM. Contemporary treatments including surgical myectomy to reverse heart failure and defibrillators to prevent sudden death, were effective in both sexes contributing to low mortality. However, despite more frequent outflow obstruction, women with HCM are underrecognized and referred to centers later than men, often with more advanced heart failure. Greater awareness of HCM in women should lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment, with implications for improved quality of life.