Influence of left ventricular lead location on outcomes in the COMPANION study.

Introduction: There are no randomized controlled trial data that evaluate mortality and hospitalization rates in cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) recipients based on left ventricular (LV) lead location. We analyzed the event-driven outcomes of mortality and hospitalization as well as functional outcomes including Functional Class, Quality-of-Life, and 6-minute walk distance in 1,520 patients enrolled in the COMPANION study of CRT versus optimal medical therapy.

Methods And Results: Over a mean follow-up after implantation of 16.

Impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy on exercise performance, functional capacity, and quality of life in systolic heart failure with QRS prolongation: COMPANION trial sub-study.

Background: A total of 405 participants in the Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure trial were prospectively enrolled in an exercise sub-study designed to study the influence of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on measures of exercise capacity, functional capacity, and quality of life (QOL).

Methods And Results: Substudy eligibility included New York Heart Association (NYHA) functional Class III or IV heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction < or =0.35, QRS interval of > or =120 ms, normal sinus rhythm, a heart failure hospitalization (or equivalent) within 1 year, a peak VO2 < or =22 mL x kg x min, the ability to walk 150 to 425 meters in 6 minutes, forced expiratory volume in 1 second/forced vital capacity > or =50%, and no clinical indication for a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

Influence of diabetes on cardiac resynchronization therapy with or without defibrillator in patients with advanced heart failure.

Objectives: We performed a post hoc analysis to determine the influence of cardiac resynchronization therapy with a defibrillator (CRT-D) or without a defibrillator (CRT-P) on outcomes among diabetic patients with advanced heart failure (HF).

Background: In patients with systolic HF, diabetes is an independent predictor of morbidity and mortality. No data are available on its impact on CRT-D or CRT-P in advanced HF.

Effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy with or without a defibrillator on survival and hospitalizations in patients with New York Heart Association class IV heart failure.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) alone or combined with an implantable defibrillator (CRT-D) has been shown to improve exercise capacity and quality of life and to reduce heart failure (HF) hospitalizations and mortality in patients with New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III and IV HF. There is concern that the device procedure may destabilize these very ill class IV patients. We sought to examine the outcomes of NYHA class IV patients enrolled in the Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure (COMPANION) trial to assess the potential benefits of CRT and CRT-D.

Predictors of sudden cardiac death and appropriate shock in the Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure (COMPANION) Trial.

Background: The factors that determine the risk for sudden death or implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy in patients receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) therapies are largely unknown.

Methods And Results: We hypothesized that clinical measures of heart failure severity and the presence of comorbid conditions would predict the risk of malignant arrhythmias in the 1520 patients enrolled in the Comparison of Medical Therapy, Pacing, and Defibrillation in Heart Failure (COMPANION) Trial. Outcomes in the CRT group after implantable cardioverter defibrillator therapy were also evaluated.