RESYNCHRONIZATION THERAPY IN PATIENTS WITH HEART FAILURE

Abstract

Prognosis in heart failure (HF) is poor and mortality widely ranges - 15-60% per year. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a therapeutic concept for patients who have NYHA III or IV class, LVEF ≤ 35%, left bundle branch block with wide QRS ≥ 120ms and ventricular dyssynchrony on optimal medical therapy. The aim of the study was to determine the effects of resynchronization therapy in patients with moderate to severe HF. In our study, 140 patients with HF were treated with different modalities of therapy in the Clinical Centre Niš. The first group of patients received CRT, and the second, control group were HF patients without echo criteria for CRT. In the control group, 36 patients received an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). Results of the study showed that resynchronization therapy in patients with HF improves different parameters: clinical symptoms, echocardiographic parameters, decreases QRS duration, increases 6-minute walk test distance and decreases mortality rate. The benefit of cardiac resynchronization therapy in combination with optimal medical therapy is proven to be beneficial in patients with HF and asynchrony. CRT improved clinical symptoms of heart failure and had influence on disease progression.

Keywords

• heart failure
• resynchronization therapy
• mortality