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<p>Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is often caused by pathogenic variants in sarcomeric genes and characterized by left ventricular (LV) hypertrophy, myocardial fibrosis and increased risk of heart failure and arrhythmias. There are no existing therapies to modify disease progression. In this study, we conducted a multi-center, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 2 clinical trial to assess the safety and efficacy of the angiotensin II receptor blocker valsartan in attenuating disease evolution in early HCM. In total, 178 participants with early-stage sarcomeric HCM were randomized (1:1) to receive valsartan (320 mg daily in adults; 80-160 mg daily in children) or placebo for 2 years ( NCT01912534 ). Standardized changes from baseline to year 2 in LV wall thickness, mass and volumes; left atrial volume; tissue Doppler diastolic and systolic velocities; and serum levels of high-sensitivity troponin T and N-terminal pro-B-type natriuretic protein were integrated into a single composite z-score as the primary outcome. Valsartan (n = 88) improved cardiac structure and function compared to placebo (n = 90), as reflected by an increase in the composite z-score (between-group difference +0.231, 95% confidence interval (+0.098, +0.364); P = 0.001), which met the primary endpoint of the study. Treatment was well-tolerated. These results indicate a key opportunity to attenuate disease progression in early-stage sarcomeric HCM with an accessible and safe medication.</p>
<p>Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the leading cause of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in children and young adults. Our objective was to develop and validate a SCD risk prediction model in pediatric HCM to guide SCD prevention strategies. In an international multi-center observational cohort study, phenotype-positive patients with isolated HCM <18 years at diagnosis were eligible. The primary outcome variable was the time from diagnosis to a composite of SCD events at 5-year follow-up: SCD, resuscitated sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), and aborted SCD, i.e. appropriate shock following primary prevention ICD. Competing risk models with cause-specific hazard regression were used to identify and quantify clinical and genetic factors associated with SCD. The cause-specific regression model was implemented using boosting, and tuned with ten repeated four-fold cross-validations. The final model was fitted using all data with the tuned hyperparameter value that maximizes the c-statistic, and its performance was characterized using c-statistic for competing risk models. The final model was validated in an independent external cohort (SHaRe, n=285). Overall, 572 patients met eligibility criteria with 2855 patient-years of follow-up. The 5-year cumulative proportion of SCD events was 9.1% (14 SCD, 25 resuscitated SCA, 14 aborted SCD). Risk predictors included age at diagnosis, documented non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, unexplained syncope, septal diameter z-score, LV posterior wall diameter z-score, LA diameter z-score, peak LV outflow tract (LVOT) gradient, and presence of a pathogenic variant. Unlike adults, LVOT gradient had an inverse association, and family history of SCD had no association with SCD. Clinical and clinical/genetic models were developed to predict 5-year freedom from SCD. Both models adequately discriminated patients with and without SCD events with a c-statistic of 0.75 and 0.76 respectively and demonstrated good agreement between predicted and observed events in the primary and validation cohorts (validation c-statistic 0.71 and 0.72 respectively). Our study provides a validated SCD risk prediction model with over 70% prediction accuracy and incorporates risk factors that are unique to pediatric HCM. An individualized risk prediction model has the potential to improve the application of clinical practice guidelines and shared decision-making for ICD insertion. URL: https://clinicaltrials.gov Unique Identifier: NCT04036799.</p>
<p><strong>BACKGROUND: </strong>The VANISH trial (Valsartan for Attenuating Disease Evolution in Early Sarcomeric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy) targeted young sarcomeric gene mutation carriers with early-stage hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) to test whether valsartan can modify disease progression. We describe the baseline characteristics of the VANISH cohort and compare to previous trials evaluating angiotensin receptor blockers.</p>
<p><strong>METHODS: </strong>Applying a randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled design, 178 participants with nonobstructive HCM (age, 23.3±10.1 years; 61% men) were randomized in the primary cohort and 34 (age, 16.5±4.9 years; 50% men) in the exploratory cohort of sarcomeric mutation carriers without left ventricular hypertrophy.</p>
<p><strong>RESULTS: </strong>In the primary cohort, maximal left ventricular wall thickness was 17±4 mm for adults and score 7.0±4.5 for children. Nineteen percent had late gadolinium enhancement on cardiac magnetic resonance. Mean peak oxygen consumption was 33 mL/kg per minute, and 92% of participants were New York Heart Association functional class I. New York Heart Association class II was associated with older age, variants, and more prominent imaging abnormalities. Six previous trials of angiotensin receptor blockers in HCM enrolled a median of 24 patients (range, 19-133) with mean age of 51.2 years; 42% of patients were in New York Heart Association class ≥II, and sarcomeric mutations were not required.</p>
<p><strong>CONCLUSIONS: </strong>The VANISH cohort is much larger, younger, less heterogeneous, and has less advanced disease than prior angiotensin receptor blocker trials in HCM. Participants had relatively normal functional capacity and mild HCM features. New York Heart Association functional class II symptoms were associated with older age, more prominent imaging abnormalities, and variants, suggesting both phenotype and genotype contribute to disease manifestations.</p>
<p><strong>CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: </strong>URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov. Unique identifier: NCT01912534.</p>