Introduction
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the most common hereditary
cardiomyopathy characterized by left ventricular hypertrophy and a
spectrum of clinical manifestations, with a prevalence of approximately
1:500 in the general population1. Atrial fibrillation
(AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in HCM, which occurs in up
to 20% of patients over their lifetime2. The
occurrence of AF is associated with thromboembolisms, progression of
heart failure and mortality3,4.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a progressive and irreversible renal
dysfunction lasting more than three months caused by various etiologies,
and it is an important risk factor for cardiovascular disease and heart
failure5,6. Several heart diseases are reported to be
a risk factor for developing CKD7, and the HCM is one
of the significant predictors of end-stage renal
disease8. In addition, a previous study showed that
renal dysfunction was a common comorbidity and independent predictor of
the outcomes in patients with HCM9. The management of
CKD in patients with HCM is an essential issue in terms of the
maintenance of quality of life as well as the improvement of prognosis.
Recently, catheter ablation (CA) has become one of the therapeutic
options for AF, and several studies have shown that patients maintaining
sinus rhythm after CA improved their renal
function8,10,11. However, to the best of our
knowledge, the protective effect of AF ablation on the renal function
remains unsolved in patients with HCM. The purpose of the study was to
investigate the protective effects of CA of AF on the renal function in
HCM patients.