Vigorous Exercise Not Harmful With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy

WEDNESDAY, May 24, 2023 (HealthDay News) -- Among individuals with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM), vigorous exercise is not associated with a higher rate of death or life-threatening arrhythmias such as resuscitated sudden cardiac arrest, arrhythmic syncope, or appropriate shock, according to a study published online May 17 in JAMA Cardiology.

Rachel Lampert, M.D., from Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut, and colleagues assessed whether vigorous exercise is associated with an increased risk for mortality or ventricular arrhythmia in individuals with HCM. The analysis included 1,660 individuals seen at 42 high-volume HCM centers.

The researchers found that among the 699 individuals (42 percent) who participated in vigorous-intensity exercise, 4.6 percent reached the composite end point of death, resuscitated sudden cardiac arrest, arrhythmic syncope, and appropriate shock from an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. Individuals engaging in vigorous exercise did not experience a higher rate of events compared with the nonvigorous group (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.01; 95 percent one-sided confidence level, 1.48, which was below the prespecified boundary of 1.5 for noninferiority).

"These data may inform discussion between the patient and their expert clinician around exercise participation," the authors write.

Several authors disclosed financial ties to industry.

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