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Physical Activity and Other Health Behaviors in Adults With Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy
Study Questions:
What are the health behaviors of adults with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy as compared with the general population?
Methods:
A patient survey was used, including patients recruited at a single tertiary center as well as the national Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Association website. Survey questions were taken from the 2007-2008 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES). Propensity score matching to NHANES participants was used.
Results:
Compared to the matched NHANES participants, subjects with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy reported significantly less alcohol and tobacco use. While more participants with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy reported participation in vigorous or moderate-intensity exercise, the time spent performing those activities was less for patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy than the NHANES participants. The body mass index was greater in the hypertrophic cardiomyopathy cohort than the NHANES participants.
Conclusions:
The authors concluded that patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are less active than the general population of the United States. More data are needed on safety of exercise in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy.
Perspective:
Patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy are not immune from nationwide problems of inactivity and obesity. This study suggests that these issues may in fact be exaggerated in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. This may be due to apprehension regarding exercise on the part of patients, as well as by exercise restrictions imposed by physicians. Well-designed, likely multicenter, prospective studies will be necessary to determine the risks and benefits of different exercise regimens on hypertrophic cardiomyopathy disease progression and complications.
Keywords: Antipsychotic Agents, Heart Defects, Congenital, Ethanol, Cardiomyopathy, Hypertrophic, Heart Diseases, Body Mass Index, Heart Failure, Motor Activity, Obesity, Tobacco Use Disorder, Risk Assessment, Nutrition Surveys, United States, Exercise Test
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