Systematic continuation of OAC in all patients undergoing implantation of CRMDs is safe and feasible, thus simplifying and standardizing the perioperative management in this setting.

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Background Atrial fibrillation (AF) and heart failure (HF) are common complications in Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (HCM) patients, leading to a worsening of their quality of life, need of hospitalization and prognosis. Purpose To analyze clinical variables associated with the presence of AF and HF in HCM patients. Methods HCM patients followed-up in cardiological visits from 2005 to 2017 were included and a descriptive analysis of those with AF and HF was performed. Results Out of 168 patients, 28% had reported AF. They were older than those without arrhythmia (68±15 years (yrs) vs 56±20 yrs, p<0.001) and had more comorbidities such as diabetes (27.7% vs 12.4%, p=0.02) and chronic renal disease (21.3% vs 6.6%, p=0.006). Echocardiographic findings are summarized in Table 1. In our cohort, 27.4% of the patients had HF with a functional class according to the New York Heart Association criteria ≥2. They were older than those without HF (69.3±11.6 yrs vs 55.9±20.6 yrs, p<0.001) and had higher rate of cardiovascular (CV) risk factors such as hypertension (65.2% vs 44.3%, p=0.015). The presence of HF was directly associated with the presence of AF: 52.2% of the patients with HF and 18.9% of the patients without HF developed this arrhythmia (p<0.001). HF patients associated larger left atrial diameter (48±8.1 vs 41.6±7.2mm, p<0.001), myocardial thickness (21.7±3.9 vs 19.2±5.8mm, p=0.002) and higher left ventricular outflow obstruction (LVOO) (55±32 vs 34.3±31.3mmHg, p=0.021), without any differences in the left ventricular ejection fraction. HF patients had a worse prognosis (Picture 1). Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of AF (OR 2.6, CI 95% 1.1–6.3) and LVOO (OR 4.8, CI 95% 1.5–14.8) were independent risk factors of developing HF. Table 1. Echocardiographic findings AF (n=47) Non AF (n=121) p LVOO 27.7 19 0.22 Aortic regurgitation 12.8 3.3 0.02 Mitral regurgitation 27.7 12.4 0.02 Left atrial diameter (mm) 48.8±7.2 40.7±7 <0.001 Myocardial thickness (mm) 20±5.4 19±5.2 0.02 Qualitative variables are expressed as percentages (%) and quantitative variables as mean and standard deviation (M ± SD). Picture 1. Main outcomes of HF patients Conclusions AF and HF were directly associated in our cohort, especially in elderly patients with higher comorbidities, leading to a worse prognosis with a higher hospitalization rate and CV death. This emphasizes the importance of a thorough search of both complications in order to initiate early treatment and improve the prognosis of HCM patients.