Efficacy and safety of dofetilide and sotalol in patients with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a genetic condition that affects the heart muscle by making it abnormally thick. It often also causes abnormalities in the heartbeat, known as arrhythmias, which can cause symptoms such as dizziness and shortness of breath, or death. Historically it has been advised that some drugs that can affect the heartbeat should not be used in those with HCM, leaving people with HCM to be treated with other drugs that have undesirable side effects. We studied HCM patients who had been prescribed two of the drugs that were advised not to be used, called dofetilide and sotalol. The drugs were found to have been safe and effective over a 4-year period. These results suggest that clinical guidelines should be updated to support the use of these drugs for the treatment of arrhythmias in patients with HCM.