Abstract 9297: Assessing Cardiovascular Health in Pediatric Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Using the CANHEART Index

Abstract

Introduction: Pediatric hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is associated with sudden death often resulting in restriction from strenuous physical activity and competitive sports. Restrictions may increase the risk of poor cardiovascular (CV) health. Hypothesis: CV health, as measured by the Cardiovascular Health in Ambulatory Care Research Team (CANHEART) health index (https://www.cmaj.ca/content/cmaj/186/3/180.full.pdf) are lower in pediatric HCM compared to other Canadian children. Methods: Pediatric HCM patients between age 10 and 18 years were prospectively recruited at 5 Canadian sites and assessed using the CANHEART health index. The index uses four factors for the definition of ideal CV health: never smoked, body mass index (BMI), fruit and vegetable (veg) consumption > 5 times/day and walking >60 minutes walking or 20 mins of running/jogging per day. Ideal health is defined by the presence of all four factors and poor health 0-2 factors. Results: There were 36 subjects enrolled in the study [27 males; median age 14.8 years (10-18); median BMI 24 (17-37)]. With regards to CANHEART health index results, 50% (n=18) were overweight/obese, 56% (n= 20) walked <60 minutes or ran/jogged <20 min per day, 70% consumed fruits/veg < 5 times/day and 94.4% had never smoked. The mean CANHEART index score was 2.19 (95 th CI 1.87-2.52) compared to the previously reported for Canadian youths without HCM (2.49 95% CI 2.47-2.52). Ideal CV health was seen in 11.1% (n=5) of HCM patients with poor health in 66.7% (n=24) [See Table 1]. Conclusions: A small percentage of pediatric HCM patients had ideal CV health as defined by the CANHEART index and the mean score was lower than previous reported in the CANHEART population study. These finding are predominantly driven by a lack of fruit/veg consumption, poor physical activity and BMI. CV profiling for pediatric HCM patients should be considered as part of the longitudinal care to help decrease the risk of premature CV disease in adulthood.