scholarly journals Improving Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy

2019 ◽  
Vol 8 (3) ◽  
pp. 220-227 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Thomas ◽  
Jiwon Kim ◽  
Bruce B Lerman

CRT is a cornerstone of therapy for patients with heart failure and reduced ejection fraction. By restoring left ventricular (LV) electrical and mechanical synchrony, CRT can reduce mortality, improve LV function and reduce heart failure symptoms. Since its introduction, many advances have been made that have improved the delivery of and enhanced the response to CRT. Improving CRT outcomes begins with proper patient selection so CRT is delivered to all populations that could benefit from it, and limiting the implantation of CRT in those with a small chance of response. In addition, advancements in LV leads and delivery technologies coupled with multimodality imaging and electrical mapping have enabled operators to place coronary sinus leads in locations that will optimise electrical and mechanical synchrony. Finally, new pacing strategies using LV endocardial pacing or His bundle pacing have allowed for CRT delivery and improved response in patients with poor coronary sinus anatomy or lack of response to traditional CRT.

Open Heart ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. e001067 ◽  
Author(s):  
Serge C Harb ◽  
Saleem Toro ◽  
Jennifer A Bullen ◽  
Nancy A Obuchowski ◽  
Bo Xu ◽  
...  

ObjectiveDetermine the prognostic impact of scar quantification (scar %) by cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) in predicting heart failure admission, death and left ventricular (LV) function improvement following cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT), after controlling for the presence of left bundle branch block (LBBB), QRS duration (QRSd) and LV lead tip location and polarity.MethodsConsecutive patients who underwent CMR between 2002 and 2014 followed by CRT were included. The primary endpoint was death or heart failure admission. The secondary endpoint was change in ejection fraction (EF) ≥3 months after CRT. Cox proportional hazards, linear regression models and change in the area under the receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC) were used.ResultsA total of 84 patients were included (63% male, 51% with ischaemic cardiomyopathy). After adjusting for clinical factors, presence of LBBB and QRSd and LV lead tip location and polarity, greater scar % remained associated with a higher risk for clinical events (HR=1.06; 95% CI 1.02 to 1.10; p<0.001) and a smaller improvement in EF (slope: −0.61%; 95% CI −0.93% to 0.29%; p<0.001). When adding scar % to QRSd and LBBB, there was significant improvement in predicting clinical events at 3 years (AUC increased to 0.831 from 0.638; p=0.027) and EF increase ≥10% (AUC 0.869 from 0.662; p=0.007).ConclusionScar quantification by CMR has an incremental value in predicting response to CRT, in terms of heart failure admission, death and EF improvement, independent of the presence of LBBB, QRSd, LV lead tip location and polarity.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 92
Author(s):  
Maurizio Gasparini ◽  
Alessio Cappelleri ◽  
Paola Galimberti ◽  
Carlo Ceriotti ◽  
Angelica Montorio ◽  
...  

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is an important device-based, non-pharmacological approach that has been shown to improve left ventricular (LV) function and reduce both morbidity and mortality rates in selected patients affected by advanced heart failure (HF), with New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III–IV, ejection fraction (EF) ≤35%, QRS duration ≥120ms and on optimal medical therapy. Patients with atrial fibrillation (AF), who constitute an important subgroup of HF patients, are nowadays considered eligible for receiving CRT as described in the latest European Society of Cardiology (ESC) and American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/Heart Rhythm Society (AHA/ACC/HRS) guidelines, with some relevant differences in terms of how to manage the interference of natural rhythm and biventricular pacing. In this article, the authors explain how AF may interfere with adequate CRT delivery and how to manage different AF burdens, trying to obtain the best effects of CRT in AF patients.


2015 ◽  
Vol 04 (2) ◽  
pp. 122 ◽  
Author(s):  
Geoffrey F Lewis ◽  
Michael R Gold ◽  
◽  

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is an important therapy for patients with heart failure with a reduced ejection fraction and interventricular conduction delay. Large trials have established the role of CRT in reducing heart failure hospitalisations and improving symptoms, left ventricular (LV) function and mortality. Guidelines from major medical societies are consistent in support of CRT for patients with New York Health Association (NYHA) class II, III and ambulatory class IV heart failure, reduced LV ejection fraction and QRS prolongation, particularly left bundle branch block. The current challenge facing practitioners is to maximise the rate of patients who respond to CRT and the magnitude of that response. Current areas of interest for achieving these goals include tailoring patient selection, individualising LV lead placement and application of new technologies and techniques for CRT delivery.


2010 ◽  
Vol 6 (1) ◽  
pp. 83
Author(s):  
Jagmeet P Singh ◽  

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) has gained widespread acceptance as a safe and effective therapeutic strategy for congestive heart failure (CHF) refractory to optimal medical therapy. The use of implantable devices has substantially altered the natural history of systolic heart failure. These devices exert their physiological impact through ventricular remodelling, associated with a reduction in left ventricular (LV) volumes and an improvement in ejection fraction (EF). Several prospective randomised studies have shown that this in turn translates into long-term clinical benefits such as improved quality of life, increased functional capacity and reduction in hospitalisation for heart failure and overall mortality. Despite these obvious benefits, there remain more than a few unresolved concerns, the most important being that up to one-third of patients treated with CRT do not derive any detectable benefit. There are several determinants of successful delivery and response to CRT, including selecting the appropriate patient, patient-specific optimal LV pacing lead placement and appropriate post-implant device care and follow-up. This article highlights the importance of collectively working on all of these aspects of CRT to enhance and maximise response.


2011 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
pp. 29
Author(s):  
Charlotte Eitel ◽  
Gerhard Hindricks ◽  
Christopher Piorkowski ◽  
◽  
◽  
...  

Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is an efficacious and cost-effective therapy in patients with highly symptomatic systolic heart failure and delayed ventricular conduction. Current guidelines recommend CRT as a class I indication for patients with sinus rhythm, New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or ambulatory class IV, a QRS duration ≥120ms, and left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤35%, despite optimal pharmacological therapy. Recent trials resulted in an extension of current recommendations to patients with mild heart failure, patients with atrial fibrillation, and patients with an indication for permanent right ventricular pacing with the aim of morbidity reduction. The effectiveness of CRT in patients with narrow QRS, patients with end-stage heart failure and cardiogenic shock, and patients with an LVEF >35% still needs to be proved. This article reviews current evidence and clinical applications of CRT in heart failure and provides an outlook on future developments.


Author(s):  
Philippe C. Wouters ◽  
Geert E. Leenders ◽  
Maarten J. Cramer ◽  
Mathias Meine ◽  
Frits W. Prinzen ◽  
...  

AbstractPurpose: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) improves left ventricular (LV) function acutely, with further improvements and reverse remodelling during chronic CRT. The current study investigated the relation between acute improvement of LV systolic function, acute mechanical recoordination, and long-term reverse remodelling after CRT. Methods: In 35 patients, LV speckle tracking longitudinal strain, LV volumes & ejection fraction (LVEF) were assessed by echocardiography before, acutely within three days, and 6 months after CRT. A subgroup of 25 patients underwent invasive assessment of the maximal rate of LV pressure rise (dP/dtmax,) during CRT-implantation. The acute change in dP/dtmax, LVEF, systolic discoordination (internal stretch fraction [ISF] and LV systolic rebound stretch [SRSlv]) and systolic dyssynchrony (standard deviation of peak strain times [2DS-SD18]) was studied, and their association with long-term reverse remodelling were determined. Results: CRT induced acute and ongoing recoordination (ISF from 45 ± 18 to 27 ± 11 and 23 ± 12%, p < 0.001; SRS from 2.27 ± 1.33 to 0.74 ± 0.50 and 0.71 ± 0.43%, p < 0.001) and improved LV function (dP/dtmax 668 ± 185 vs. 817 ± 198 mmHg/s, p < 0.001; stroke volume 46 ± 15 vs. 54 ± 20 and 52 ± 16 ml; LVEF 19 ± 7 vs. 23 ± 8 and 27 ± 10%, p < 0.001). Acute recoordination related to reverse remodelling (r = 0.601 and r = 0.765 for ISF & SRSlv, respectively, p < 0.001). Acute functional improvements of LV systolic function however, neither related to reverse remodelling nor to the extent of acute recoordination. Conclusion: Long-term reverse remodelling after CRT is likely determined by (acute) recoordination rather than by acute hemodynamic improvements. Discoordination may therefore be a more important CRT-substrate that can be assessed and, acutely restored.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Fabio Chirillo ◽  
Anna Baritussio ◽  
Umberto Cucchini ◽  
Ermanno Toniolli ◽  
Angela Polo ◽  
...  

Abstract Background Peripartum cardiomyopathy (PPCM) is usually characterized by overt heart failure, but other clinical scenarios are possible, sometimes making the diagnosis challenging. Case summary We report a case series of four patients with PPCM. The first patient presented with acute heart failure due to left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. Following medical treatment, LV function recovered completely at 1 month. The second patient had systemic and pulmonary thromboembolism, secondary to severe biventricular dysfunction with biventricular thrombi. The third patient presented with myocardial infarction with non-obstructed coronary arteries and evidence of an aneurysm of the mid-anterolateral LV wall. The fourth patient, diagnosed with PPCM 11 years earlier, presented with sustained ventricular tachycardia. A repeat cardiac magnetic resonance, compared to the previous one performed 11 years earlier, showed an enlarged LV aneurysm in the mid-LV anterolateral wall with worsened global LV function. Discussion Peripartum cardiomyopathy may have different clinical presentations. Attentive clinical evaluation and multimodality imaging can provide precise diagnostic and prognostic information.


2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. e245006
Author(s):  
Claire Seydoux ◽  
Philipp Suter ◽  
Denis Graf ◽  
Hari Vivekanantham

Pacing-induced cardiomyopathy (PICM) consists of heart failure (HF) associated with a drop in the left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) in the setting of high-burden right ventricular pacing, with presentation that may range from subclinical to severe. Time to manifestation can go from weeks to years after device implantation. Treatment typically consists in an upgrade to a cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) or His bundle pacing (HisP). Several risk factors for PICM have been described and should be considered before pacemaker (PM) implantation, as thorough patient selection for de novo CRT or HisP, may preclude its manifestation. We present the case of an 82-year-old patient presenting with acute congestive HF and new severely reduced LVEF, 30 days following dual chamber PM implantation for high-grade atrioventricular block. Treatment with HF medication and upgrade to a CRT permitted rapid resolution of the symptoms and normalisation of the LVEF at 1-month follow-up.


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