Epidemiology and Cause-Specific Outcome of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy in Children

Abstract

Background— Current information on the epidemiology and outcomes of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) in children is limited by disease diversity and small case series. Methods and Results— The Pediatric Cardiomyopathy Registry has collected prospective and retrospective data on children diagnosed with HCM since 1990. We identified the various causes of HCM in childhood and determined the relationship between outcomes, cause, and age at presentation. Of 855 patients Conclusions— In children, HCM is a diverse disorder with outcomes that depend largely on cause and age. Patients presenting before 1 year of age have the broadest spectrum of causes and the poorest outcome. In those children with idiopathic HCM who survive beyond age 1, however, survival is independent of age at diagnosis, with an annual mortality rate (1%) that is much lower than previously reported in children and is not different from has been found in population-based studies in adults.