Combination of left ventricular reverse remodeling and brain natriuretic peptide level at one year after cardiac resynchronization therapy predicts long-term clinical outcome.

Introduction: The aim of this study was to investigate the predictors of long-term clinical outcome of heart failure (HF) patients who survived first year after initiation of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

Methods: This was a single-center observational cohort study of CRT patients implanted because of symptomatic HF with reduced ejection fraction between 2005 and 2013. Left ventricle (LV) diameters and ejection fraction, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, and level of N-terminal fragment of pro-brain natriuretic peptide (NT-proBNP) were assessed at baseline and 12 months after CRT implantation.

Left Ventricular Lead Electrical Delay Is a Predictor of Mortality in Patients With Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy.

Background: Electric left ventricular lead position, assessed by the electric delay from the beginning of the QRS complex to the local LV electrogram (QLV), was found in previous studies to be a strong predictor of short-term response to cardiac resynchronization therapy. We hypothesized that suboptimum electric position of the left ventricular lead is associated with an excess of heart failure events and mortality.

Methods And Results: We analyzed the clinical outcome of patients with left bundle branch block or intraventricular conduction delay treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy at our institution during 9 years.

Valve cuspidity: a risk factor for aortic valve repair?

Background: The aim of this study was to analyze short- and mid-term results after aortic valve (AV) repair with particular regard to the impact of valve cuspidity (bicuspid versus tricuspid aortic valve).

Methods: One hundred patients with aortic regurgitation (AR) undergoing aortic valve repair between November 2007 and October 2012 were included in the study. Sixty patients had bicuspid AV (BAV group; 11 females) and 40 patients had tricuspid AV (TAV group; 13 females).

Local electrogram delay recorded from left ventricular lead at implant predicts response to cardiac resynchronization therapy: retrospective study with 1 year follow up.

Background: Considerable proportion of patients does not respond to the cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). This study investigated clinical relevance of left ventricular electrode local electrogram delay from the beginning of QRS (QLV). We hypothesized that longer QLV indicating more optimal lead placement in the late activated regions is associated with the higher probability of positive CRT response.