Current Knowledge of Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy Among Health Care Providers in Sweden

Abstract

Introduction Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a common disorder with various manifestations, including sudden cardiac death. Patients with suspected or confirmed HCM may be encountered throughout the healthcare system, especially in internal medicine and cardiology. Thus, thorough knowledge of HCM is essential among healthcare providers. Methods A web-based questionnaire was developed to assess the cross-sectional evaluation of HCM knowledge. It covered aspects such as epidemiology and diagnosis, treatment, lifestyle, risk stratification of sudden cardiac death, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator knowledge. Results In total, 123 subjects completed the survey. The mean age was 38.5 ±10.7 years and two-thirds (n=82) were females; 43.1% were physicians (non-specialist 24.4%, cardiologists 8.9%, specialist, other than cardiology 9.8%); and the remaining were nurses (nurses within cardiology 37.4%, nurses outside cardiology 19.5%). Almost all subjects had heard about the disease (95.9%) and the vast majority (77.2%) had taken part in the management of a patient with HCM. The total mean score was 15.9 ±3.9 credits and the 25th, 50th, and 75th percentiles were 14, 15, and 18 credits, respectively. The predefined arbitrary pass score of ≥60% was reached by 61.8%, and 20.3% were considered to pass with distinction. Physicians scored higher than nurses (70.7 ±17.0% vs 58.1 ±11.8; p<0.001). Within each professional category, there was a similar score with regard to gender. Conclusions There is a considerable lack of knowledge of HCM among healthcare professionals working within the field of internal medicine/cardiology. This insufficient knowledge may contribute to less implementation of evidence-based medicine and current guidelines, although further studies are needed to confirm this.