scholarly journals Underlying causes of under-utilization of cardiac resynchronization therapy in real-world heart failure settings

2021 ◽  
Vol 42 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
E Choha ◽  
J Henrysson ◽  
E Thunstrom ◽  
M Fu ◽  
C Basic

Abstract Background Despite well-established effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in patients with heart failure (HF), it remained significantly under-utilized. The underlying causes are still not well described. Aim To investigate how many patients with HF were eligible for CRT and determine underlying causes why CRT was abstained for these patients in real life settings. Methods Retrospective review of medical data was carried out in all patients hospitalized for newly diagnosed HF from January 1, 2016 to December 31, 2019. Patients were identified from the local university hospital register with three afiliations by use of international classification of disease (ICD)-10 codes I50.0-I50.9. Medical journals, including electrocardiograms and echocardiograms, were reviewed. The indication for CRT was evaluated three months after mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists (MRA) were initiated as addition to angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitor /angiotensin-receptor blockers and beta-blocker treatment according to European guidelines for heart failure from 2016. Follow-up was minimum one year and up to two years after HF diagnosis. Results In 3456 patients with HF, 642 (18.6%) were patients hospitalized for new onset of HF with ejection fraction (EF) <40%. Out of those, 104 (16.2%) patients were excluded because of incomplete medical record as a result of referral to primary care. Finally, 538 were included in this study. Overall, 163 patients (30.3%) met CRT criteria with 22.5%, 2.6%, 1.9% complying with recommendation IA, IIA, IIB respectively, and 3.9% had more than 50% right ventricular pacing. Only 52 (9.7%) of patients received CRT with mean age 69.3±11.5 years, and 69.2% men and EF 31.9% ± 7.6. In all these patients with HF eligible for CRT, no difference was found in baseline data including hypertension, ischemic heart disease, atrial fibrillation, valvular heart disease, diabetes mellitus, stroke, cancer and renal failure nor medical treatment between those received CRT and those without CRT. Among underlying causes of under-utilization of CRT, 24.3% were due to multiple concomitant comorbidities, 4.5% due to patient's own wish, 12.5% due to other reasons such as socioeconomic problems and 58.6% with unknown reasons. Mortality rates were 20.7% in patients without treatment with CRT compared with 7.7% in those who received CRT (p=0.037). Conclusion In this real world HF cohort, 1/3 patients were eligible for CRT treatment. However only 1/3 received CRT and 58.6% had no contraindication but did not receive CRT, which emphasize urgent need for structured implementation methods for device treatment in patients with HF. FUNDunding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: None.

2019 ◽  
Vol 40 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
S Briongos Figuero ◽  
A Estevez ◽  
M L Perez ◽  
J B Martinez-Ferrer ◽  
L Alvarez-Costa ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Adaptive cardiac resynchronization therapy (aCRT) algorithm provides synchronized left ventricular (LV) only pacing and ambulatory optimization of the intrinsic atrioventricular and interventricular conduction intervals. Studies reporting morbidity and mortality outcomes of aCRT carriers in daily clinical practice are lacking. Purpose To determine in a real-life setting, whether 1-year outcomes were different among CRT carriers undergoing aCRT pacing and those under conventional biventricular (biV) pacing. Methods Symptomatic heart failure (HF) patients with sinus rhythm undergoing first CRT-defibrillator implant were selected from the UMBRELLA nationwide registry (2012–2017). The primary endpoint was the composite of all-cause mortality or HF hospitalization at 12-month follow-up. HF admission was defined as hospitalization due to symptoms requiring intravenous diuretic treatment. Primary healthcare records were used to prospectively collect all data. Results Two hundred and six patients were collected (66.1±8.7 years; 73.3% male). Eighty-seven out of 206 patients were implanted with an aCRT capable device, but this algorithm was activated at implant and remained enabled at 1-year in 59 patients (aCRT group). The other 147 patients composed the non-aCRT group. At implant left bundle branch block was present in 93% of patients, 69.6% of population was in functional class III or IV and mean left ventricle ejection fraction was of 26.5±5.6%. Non-ischemic cardiomyopathy was present in 63.1% of patients and optimal medical treatment was achieved in majority of population (92% of patients with beta-blockers; angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitorsor angiotensin II receptor blockersin 89%). The percentage of ventricular pacing through 12 months was 96.1±9.4% in non-aCRT patients and 97.5±2.7% in aCRT patients (p=0.261). In aCRT patients, LV-only pacing accounted for a mean of 53.3±37.6% of all ventricular pacing. After 12-month follow-up period, 25 patients (12.1%) met the primary composite endpoint of death or HF hospitalization. Nine patients died and nineteen patients were admitted due to worsening HF. There was no difference in the risk of all-cause death or HF hospitalization between aCRT and non-aCRT patients (10.2% vs. 12.9% respectively; OR=0.76, CI: 0.29–2.01, p=0.585) Conclusions In this contemporary cohort of HF patients undergoing CRT with high percentages of ventricular pacing, clinical performance of aCRT algorithm was adequate. The risk of death or HF hospitalization was low and no differences were observed at one-year follow-up. Future randomized studies will clarify the role of this algorithm in CRT carriers. Acknowledgement/Funding None


EP Europace ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 22 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Z L Moreno Weidmann ◽  
C Alonso-Martin ◽  
F Mendez-Zurita ◽  
E Rodriguez-Font ◽  
J Guerra-Ramos ◽  
...  

Abstract Introduction Women are frequently underrepresented in clinical trials for heart failure. Differences on cardiovascular background may imply differences on indications, device election and outcomes in patients receiving cardiac devices (CRT and ICD). We sought to compare sex-related differences in a real-life cohort. Methods We analyzed all subjects who underwent a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) implantation (with or without ICD) between 2016 and 2019 in a single center, all of them followed by remote monitoring. Baseline characteristics and outcomes were compared according to gender. Response to resynchronization was defined as clinical improvement in NYHA class or an increase of > =10% in LVEF. Results A total of 430 devices (ICD or CRT) were implanted. 149 (35%) of them were CRTs: 116 (88%) CRT-D and 33 (22%) CRT-P. Of the whole cohort, 43 (29%) were women and the mean age was similar in both sex (70+/-9 years). Women had more likely non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (86% vs 49%, p < 0.01), higher proportion of NYHA class III-IV (26% vs 40%, p 0.04) and worse renal function (mean glomerular filtration 61ml/min vs 75ml/min, p 0.04), but tend to be less affected by atrial fibrillation (21% vs 40%, p 0.05). Left ventricular ejection fraction was similar at the moment of implantation among both sex (30+/-7%, p > 0.05) and no difference on optimal medical treatment was observed. Women trend to receive more frequently CRT-P than men (33% vs 18%, p 0.054). After a mean follow-up of 3 years, a four-fold higher response to CRT was observed in women (OR 4.0, 95% CI 2.0-10.7, p 0.002), after adjustment by the etiology of the myocardiopathy. No differences on all-cause mortality (6% in men vs 1% in women, p 0.2) or ventricular arrhythmias (10% in men vs 2% in women, p 0.3) were observed.  Conclusions in a real-life cohort, CRT implantation showed a sex-disparity: the proportion of women receiving a CRT was lower than in men, but a CRT without defibrillation was more frequently implanted in women, reflecting a higher prevalence of ischemic cardiomyopathy in men. The underlying myocardial substrate in women and a lower prevalence of AF may explain a more favorable response to CRT, despite more pronounced symptoms of heart failure at the moment of implantation.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. B. Shlevkov ◽  
A. Zh. Gasparyan ◽  
A. A. Zhambeev ◽  
H. F. Salami ◽  
E. V. Guseva ◽  
...  

Background: According to numerous studies, from 30% to 50% of patients with chronic heart failure (CHF) are resistant to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and cardiac contractility modulation (CCM), despite their careful selection in accordance with current guidelines. It is of interest to study neurohormones characterizing myocardial (NT-proBNP) and fibrosis (sST2) as potential additional markers of CHF patients' “response” to CRT and CCM.Aim: To evaluate the potential to use NT-proBNP and sST2 biomarkers in CHF patients combined with transthoracic echocardiography (Echo) and contrast magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) parameters of the heart to predict a  positive response to CRT and CCM devices.Materials and methods: The study included 51 patients (41 men, 10 women) aged 58±12 years (26 to 79 years) with ischemic heart disease post acute myocardial infarction (n=22) or non-ischemic cardiomyopathy (n=29), left ventricle (LV) ejection fraction (EF)<35%, and CHF II–III  NYHA functional class despite≥3 months of optimized medical therapy. The patients were assessed by serum biomarkers NT-proBNP and sST2 measurements, transthoracic Echo, and contrast-enhanced cardiac MRI. After the diagnostic assessment, CRT defibrillators (CRT-D) were implanted to 39 patients and CCM to 12 patients. After prospective follow-up of the patients for 18 to 24 months, predictors of the response to each device type were analyzed in univariate, multivariate, and ROC analysis.Results: The response to CRT-D was found in 21 (54%) patients, to CCM in 7 (58%) patients. Multivariate analysis showed the following predictors of the response of patients to CRT-D were: 1)  sST2<50 ng/mL, 2)  NT-proBNP<3900  pg/mL, 3) <3 LV segments with fibrosis (by MRI) and 4) anteroposterior dimension of the left atrium <4.8 cm (by Echo). Any 2 of these 4 characteristics made it possible to predict the response to CRT with an accuracy of 87% (sensitivity 90%, specificity 83%). The predictors of the response to CCM were: 1)  sST2<30 ng/ml, 2) LV end diastolic diameter <78  mm (Echo), 3) age<56 years, 4) body mass index <27 kg/m2 . Any 2 of these 4 characteristics predicted the positive response to CCM with an accuracy of 92% (sensitivity 86%, specificity 100%).Conclusion: The preoperative sST2 level was the only universal marker of the response to either CRT (< 50 ng/mL) or CCM (< 30 ng/mL) devices in CHF patients with reduced LVEF. The results indicate the potential for improved efficacy of these devices with their earlier implantation after the onset of the heart disease, as well as provided that maximal control CHF in these patients has been achieved.


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