An article by doctors at the Cleveland Clinic recently published in the Journal of the American Heart Association advocates for earlier surgical intervention for patients with obstructive hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM).   

According to this article, obstructed HCM patients who undergo myectomy earlier have better long term survival. Therefore, these doctors take the position that patients should not wait until they become severely symptomatic and/or have run out of medical options to undergo myectomy surgery. 

Meanwhile, an accompanying editorial by Dr. Mark Sherrid of NYU Langone Health is to the contrary.  Dr. Sherrid argues that medications like disopyramide (Norpace) are effective in reducing symptoms and that the inherent risks from open heart surgery are not outweighed by a theoretical improvement in longevity.

Regardless of the timing of surgery, Dr. Sherrid points out that with multiple companies now developing novel treatments for HCM, visibility of the disease will increase which will ultimately result in better patient outcomes for all with HCM.