Cost effectiveness of biventricular pacemakers in heart failure patients.

Background: Biventricular pacemakers have been shown to reduce mortality and hospitalizations in heart failure (HF) patients and are indicated for those with a New York Heart Association functional class of III or IV and a QRS interval of >130 ms. However, these devices currently cost in the region of dollar US 33,500 and require replacement upon battery depletion. Therefore, determination of the cost effectiveness of resynchronization therapy is important, although little data have been published to date on this topic.