South Korean researchers develop new staging system for hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Researchers in South Korea have developed a four-stage staging system for the left atrium to better predict the risk of atrial fibrillation in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). The study, a collaborative effort involving Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Medical Center, and Seoul National University Bundang Hospital, analyzed 705 patients over a 7.5-year period.

The new system uses echocardiography to evaluate two key indicators: left atrial pressure and contractile function. The stages range from Stage 1 (normal) to Stage 4 (exhaustion), where pressure is high and contractile function has dropped below normal limits. The findings revealed that patients in Stage 4 face a risk of developing new atrial fibrillation that is up to 7.4 times higher than those in Stage 1.

Additionally, the study found that each progressive stage significantly increases the risk of ischemic stroke. Integrating this staging system into existing predictive models, such as CHARGE-AF and HCM-AF, notably improved the accuracy of forecasting atrial fibrillation risk over a 10-year period. This development is expected to assist clinicians in establishing more effective monitoring strategies for high-risk HCM patients.