Cited 42 times since 2002 (1.9 per year) source: EuropePMC The American journal of cardiology, Volume 90, Issue 4, 1 1 2002, Pages 379-383 Effectiveness of resynchronization therapy in patients with end-stage heart failure. Molhoek SG, Bax JJ, van Erven L, Bootsma M, Boersma E, Steendijk P, van der Wall EE, Schalij MJ
Biventricular pacing has been introduced to treat patients with end-stage heart failure, and short-term results of this technique are promising. Because data on longer follow-up are limited to 3-month follow-up, the sustained effect of biventricular pacing is unclear and long-term survival is unknown. Forty patients with end-stage heart failure in New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional class III or IV with left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction (EF) <35%, QRS duration >120 ms, and left bundle branch block morphology received a biventricular pacemaker. At baseline, and at 3 and 6 months after implantation, the following parameters were evaluated: NYHA class, Minnesota quality-of-life score, QRS duration on surface electrocardiogram, 6-minute walking distance, and LVEF. Long-term follow-up was obtained for up to 2 years. All clinical parameters improved significantly at 3 months and remained unchanged at 6-month follow-up. LVEF increased from 24 +/- 9% to 34 +/- 11%. Before implantation, patients were hospitalized (for congestive heart failure) an average of 3.9 +/- 5.3 days/year compared with 0.5 +/- 1.5 days/year after implantation. Long-term follow-up showed a survival of 87.5% at 2 years. Thus, biventricular pacing resulted in improvement of symptoms and quality of life, accompanied by improvement in 6-minute walking distance and LVEF. These effects were observed at 3 months after implantation and were maintained at 6-month follow-up. Moreover, 2-year survival was excellent.
