Authors

• Marina Pavletić — University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
• Željka Roginić — University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia
• Patricia Kakarigi — University Hospital Centre Zagreb, Zagreb, Croatia

Keywords

alcohol septal ablation, hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

DOI

Full Text

Alcohol in the heart can indeed be a cure. Percutaneous transluminal septal myocardial ablation or alcohol septal ablation (ASA) is one of the methods of treating hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy is the most common genetic transmissible heart disease. Since 1994, alcohol septal ablation (ASA) has been used as a minimally invasive treatment of patients with hypertrophic obstructive cardiomyopathy, resistant to conservative medical therapy. This catheter-based intervention is performed by injecting alcohol into the septal branch to induce an infarction of the hypertrophied septum and thus reduce the obstruction of the left ventricle. This gradient reduction is associated with decreased symptoms and left ventricular remodeling. While surgical myomectomy was a gold standard by the end of the 1990s, alcohol septal ablation (ASA) has achieved rapid popularity and acceptance, especially in Europe. (1) This review presents the process of preparation, performing the procedure and describing postprocedural care and potential procedural complications. If done in an experienced institution, ASA has a high rate of success and a low rate of complications. The procedure provides relief of symptoms and gives a similar longevity to patients as in the general population.

Literature

1. Spaziano M, Sawaya FJ, Lefèvre T. Alcohol Septal Ablation for Hypertrophic Obstructive Cardiomyopathy: Indications, Technical Aspects, and Clinical Outcomes. J Invasive Cardiol. 2017 Dec;29(12):404–10. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29207362/