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Three Year Outcome of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy: A Single Center Evaluation
Author(s) -
STÅHLBERG MARCUS,
BRAUNSCHWEIG FRIEDER,
GADLER FREDRIK,
KARLSSON HELENA,
LINDE CECILIA
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
pacing and clinical electrophysiology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.686
H-Index - 101
eISSN - 1540-8159
pISSN - 0147-8389
DOI - 10.1111/j.1540-8159.2005.00217.x
Subject(s) - medicine , cardiac resynchronization therapy , coronary sinus , heart failure , cardiology , quality of life (healthcare) , single center , cardiomyopathy , refractory (planetary science) , ejection fraction , physics , nursing , astrobiology
Aims: To evaluate the long‐term clinical outcome and device performance of cardiac resynchronization therapy in a consecutive sample of patients with moderate to severe heart failure.Methods and Results: Between 1998 and 2000, forty consecutive patients with drug‐refractory heart failure due to ischemic or idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy were selected for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). After successful implantation of the coronary sinus lead (n = 35, 88%), patients were followed every sixth month by New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class, the 6‐minute walking test (6´ walk), quality of life (QoL, Minnesota), and pacemaker control. NYHA‐class and 6´ walk were significantly improved after 6 months and continued to improve gradually until 36 months of follow‐up. The QoL improvement at 6 months was sustained over 3 years. After 3 years, the β‐blocker dose could be increased in 10/23 patients as compared to baseline. Nine patients had to be re‐operated. Coronary sinus lead thresholds were stable over time.Conclusion: The clinical improvements by CRT are sustained over 3 years of follow‐up. In the setting of a University Medical Center, CRT can be applied in clinical routine with excellent clinical outcome, acceptable implantation success, and stable device performance over time.