Reduced atrial tachyarrhythmia susceptibility after upgrade of conventional implanted pulse generator to cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with heart failure.

Objectives: We sought to identify the impact of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on atrial tachyarrhythmia (AT) susceptibility in patients with left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction in whom worsening heart failure (HF) resulted in upgrade from conventional dual-chamber pulse generator to cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillator (CRT-D).

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy with a defibrillator improves survival rates and symptoms in patients with LV systolic dysfunction but little is known about its effects on AT incidence in the same patient population.

Methods: Twenty-eight consecutive HF patients who underwent device upgrade to CRT-D were included.

Comparison of ventricular arrhythmia burden, therapeutic interventions, and survival, in patients < 75 and patients >or= 75 years of age treated with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Aim: Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICD) reduce arrhythmic mortality in a wide range of patients with poor left ventricular (LV) function. However, whether ICD therapy is equally effective in younger and older patients remains uncertain. To address this question, we compared ICD-documented ventricular tachyarrhythmia burden in patients < 75 years of age (Group 1) and >or= 75 years of age (Group 2).

Impact of upgrade to cardiac resynchronization therapy on ventricular arrhythmia frequency in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators.

Objectives: This study compared cardiac resynchronization therapy's (CRT) impact on ventricular tachyarrhythmia susceptibility in patients who, due to worsening heart failure (HF) symptoms, underwent a replacement of a conventional implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) with a CRT-ICD.

Background: Cardiac resynchronization therapy is an effective addition to conventional treatment of HF in many patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction. However, whether CRT-induced improvements in HF status also reduce susceptibility to life-threatening arrhythmias is less certain.

Comparison of ventricular arrhythmia frequency in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy versus nonischemic cardiomyopathy treated with implantable cardioverter defibrillators.

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators have been shown to provide similar survival benefits for patients who have left ventricular dysfunction due to ischemic heart disease and for subsets of patients who have nonischemic cardiomyopathy. Findings in this study extend these observations by showing that patients who have ischemic or nonischemic heart disease and receive implantable cardioverter defibrillators not only have comparable mortality rates but also similar tachyarrhythmia frequencies during follow-up; further, mortality and tachyarrhythmia outcomes are independent of initial arrhythmia indication.

Biventricular implantable cardioverter defibrillators improve survival compared with biventricular pacing alone in patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction.

Introduction: Biventricular cardiac pacemakers provide important hemodynamic benefit in selected patients with heart failure and severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. Nevertheless, these patients remain at high mortality risk. To address this issue, we examined mortality outcome in patients with heart failure treated with biventricular pacemakers alone and those treated with biventricular implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs).