Impact of QRS duration on survival benefit with prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators: a meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials.

Background: QRS duration is an important risk factor for both sudden cardiac death and all-cause mortality in patients with moderate to severe left ventricular systolic dysfunction. However, it is unknown whether baseline QRS duration can help predict the mortality benefit from implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) when used for primary prevention purposes.

Objective: Our objective was to examine the relationship between baseline QRS duration and mortality reduction with ICDs implanted for primary prevention by performing a meta-analysis of all available randomized clinical trials.