A Comparison of Two Treatments: Pacemaker and Percutaneous Transluminal Septal Ablation for Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

A Randomized Prospective Comparison of DDD Chamber Pacing and Percutaneous Transluminal Septal Ablation in Obstructive Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Associated With Severe Drug-Refractory Symptoms

This study will compare two treatments: pacemaker implantation and percutaneous transluminal septal ablation (PTSA) for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), a condition in which the heart muscle thickens and obstructs the flow of blood out of the heart. The reduced blood flow can cause chest pain, shortness of breath, palpitations, tiredness, lightheadedness and fainting.

Patients with HCM who cannot be helped by drug therapy may participate in the study. The standard treatment for such patients is septal myectomy, an operation in which the surgeon shaves the muscle obstructing the blood flow. Another treatment option is implantation of a type of pacemaker that causes the heart to contract in a certain way that reduces blood flow obstruction and improves symptoms. The pacemaker is implanted under local anesthesia and usually takes less than an hour. PTSA is an experimental treatment that may provide a third option. In PTSA, a thin tube (catheter) is inserted into the blood vessel that feeds the heart muscle causing the blood flow obstruction. A small amount of alcohol is injected through the catheter to destroy some of the muscle and relieve the obstruction.

Candidates will have the following screening tests: chest X-ray, electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, exercise tests, exercise radionuclide angiography, exercise thallium scintigraphy, Holter monitoring, cardiac catheterization, electrophysiology study, and coronary angiography. Participants will be assigned to one of the two treatments groups: pacemaker implantation or PTSA. Patients in the PTSA group will also have magnetic resonance imaging scans at the start of the study, 3 to 7 days after PTSA, and at the end of the study, in order to observe changes in the heart's shape. All patients will fill out a questionnaire answering questions about their quality of life.

Patients' progress will be followed with monthly phone calls. In addition, various tests, such as exercise tests and echocardiography, will be done during repeat visits at three and six months to measure treatment results. Patients will again complete quality-of-life questionnaires at both of those visits.

Study Overview

Detailed Description

Patients with obstructive HCM and drug-refractory symptoms are referred for left ventricular myotomy and myectomy (LVMM) or mitral valve replacement. As alternative therapies to cardiac surgery, we propose to compare the abilities of dual chamber (DDD) pacing and percutaneous transluminal septal ablation (PTSA) to reduce left ventricular (LV) outflow pressure gradients and to improve exercise performance in patients with obstructive HCM and severe symptoms who have failed to benefit from pharmacotherapy.

Study Type

Interventional

Enrollment

70

Phase

  • Phase 2

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Locations

    • Maryland
      • Bethesda, Maryland, United States, 20892
        • National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI)

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Child
  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

No

Genders Eligible for Study

All

Description

Patients of either gender, aged 18-80 years.

NYHA functional class III/IV, or syncope, or greater than or equal to 2 presyncope despite verapamil and/or Beta-blocker therapy.

LV outflow tract gradient greater than or equal to 30 mm Hg at rest or greater than or equal to 50 mm Hg following isoproterenol infusion to a heart rate of greater than 100 bpm.

No patients with mid-cavity obstructive HCM.

No patients with LV septal wall thickness less than 15 mm estimated by echocardiography.

No patients with greater than 50 percent luminal narrowing in a major coronary artery vessel.

No patients with chronic atrial fibrillation.

No patients with a positive pregnancy test.

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Treatment

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start

August 1, 1999

Study Completion

September 1, 2002

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

November 3, 1999

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

November 3, 1999

First Posted (Estimate)

November 4, 1999

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Estimate)

July 4, 2006

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

July 3, 2006

Last Verified

September 1, 2002

More Information

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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