Patients
We included 823 consecutive patients with HOCM evaluated at the Fuwai
Hospital in Beijing between 2011 and 2017. All patients underwent
coronary arteriography. MB was defined as an epicardial coronary artery
systolic compression of ≥50% of the diameter on coronary arteriography
(a representative myocardial bridge is shown in Figure 1). In this
study, the MB group was defined as patients with HOCM complicated with
MB and the non-MB group as HOCM patients without MB. The diagnostic
criteria and surgical indications of HOCM were consistent with the 2011
American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology (AHA/ACC)
guidelines, which mainly include unexplained septal hypertrophy with a
thickness of >15 mm.7 The indications for
septal myectomy were severe symptoms or syncope or near-syncope despite
optimal medical therapy and an LV outflow tract (LVOT) gradient
>50 mmHg at rest or with provocation. We excluded patients
with coronary atherosclerosis heart disease and those younger than
18 years.
The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of Fuwai Hospital,
Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences. Informed consent was obtained from
all patients, in accordance with the principles of the Declaration of
Helsinki.