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Aims: Integrating remote monitoring (RM) into existing healthcare practice for heart failure (HF) patients to improve clinical outcome remains challenging. The ECOST-CRT study compared the clinical outcome of a comprehensive RM scheme including a patient questionnaire capturing signs and symptoms of HF and notifications for HF specific parameters to traditional RM in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices., Methods and Results: Patients were randomized 1:1 to standard daily RM (notification for technical parameters and ventricular arrhythmias; control group) or comprehensive RM (adding a monthly symptom questionnaire and notifications for biventricular pacing, premature ventricular contraction, atrial arrhythmias; active group). The primary endpoint was all-cause mortality or hospitalization for worsening HF (WHF). Six hundred fifty-two patients (70.4 ± 10.3 years, 73% men, left ventricular ejection fraction 29.1 ± 7.6%, 68% CRT-Defibrillators, 32% CRT-Pacemakers) were enrolled. The COVID-19 pandemic caused an early termination of the study, so the mean follow-up duration was 18 ± 8 months. No statistically significant difference in the primary endpoint was found between the groups [59 (18.3%) control vs. 77 (23.3%) active group; log-rank test P = 0.13]. Among the secondary endpoints, the MLHF questionnaire showed a larger share of patients with improvement of quality of life compared to baseline in the active group (78%) vs. control (61%; P = 0.03)., Conclusion: The study does not support the notion that comprehensive RM, when compared to standard RM, in HF patients with CRT improves the clinical outcome of all-cause mortality or WHF hospitalizations. However, this study was underpowered due to an early termination and further trials are required., Registration: Clinical Trials.gov Identifier: NCT03012490., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: C. Klein received consulting fees from Boston Scientific. L.G.-M. received consulting fees from Boston Scientific and Biotronik, and has grant support from Abbott, Medtronic, Phenix Cardiologie, Microport, and Zoll. A.L. is minor part-time employee of Biotronik France, has participated on a Data Safety Monitoring Board for Biotronik, has stock options from Implicity, and has received support for attending meetings from Boston Scientific France. P.d.G. received consulting fees from Astra Zeneca, Servier, Boehringer Ingelheim, and Bayer, and honoraria from Novartis, Astra Zeneca, Servier, BMS, Vifor, MSD, Boehringer Ingelheim, Bayer, and Pfizer. E.M. received research grants and consulting fees from Medtronic, Abbott, Boston Scientific, Biotronik, Microport, and Zoll. F.M. received consulting fees Newcard, honoraria from Novartis, BMS/Pfizer, Vifor, and Boehringer, and has received support for attending meetings from Boehringer and BMS/Pfizer. B.D. received consulting fees from Boston Scientific, Abbott, and Microport. Y.G. has received support for attending meetings from Biotronik. J.M. received consulting fees from Biotronik, Boston Scientific, Medtronic, and Microport. C.L. received consulting fees and has grant support from Biotronik, Medtronic, and Abbott. C.B. has no conflict of interests., (© The Author(s) 2024. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: Heart failure (HF) is a chronic disease affecting 64 million people worldwide and places a severe burden on society because of its mortality, numerous re-hospitalizations and associated costs. HeartLogic™ is an algorithm programmed into implanted devices incorporating several biometric parameters which aims to predict HF episodes. It provides an index which can be monitored remotely, allowing pre-emptive treatment of congestion to prevent acute decompensation. We aim to assess the impact and security of pre-emptive HF management, guided by the HeartLogic™ index., Methods and Results: The HeartLogic™ France Cohort Study is an investigator-initiated, prospective, multi-centre, non-randomized study. Three hundred ten patients with a history of HF (left ventricular ejection fraction ≤40%; or at least one episode of clinical HF with elevated NT-proBNP ≥450 ng/L) and implanted with a cardioverter defibrillator enabling HeartLogic™ index calculation will be included across 10 French centres. The HeartLogic™ index will be monitored remotely for 12 months and in the event of a HeartLogic™ index ≥16, the local investigator will contact the patient for assessment and adjust HF treatment as necessary. The primary endpoint is unscheduled hospitalization for HF. Secondary endpoints are all-cause mortality, cardiovascular death, HF-related death, unscheduled hospitalizations for ventricular or atrial arrhythmia and HeartLogic™ index evolution over time. Blood samples will be collected for biobanking, and quality of life will be assessed. Finally, the safety of a HeartLogic™-triggered strategy for initiating or increasing diuretic therapy will be assessed. A blind and independent committee will adjudicate the events., Conclusions: The HeartLogic™ France Cohort Study will provide robust real-world data in a cohort of HF patients managed with the HeartLogic™ algorithm allowing pre-emptive treatment of heart failure exacerbations., (© 2024 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: The effects of pharmacological therapy on cardiogenic shock (CS) survivors have not been extensively studied. Thus, this study investigated the association between guideline-directed heart failure (HF) medical therapy (GDMT) and one-year survival rate in patients who are post-CS., Methods and Results: FRENSHOCK (French Observatory on the Management of Cardiogenic Shock in 2016) registry was a prospective multicenter observational survey, conducted in metropolitan French intensive care units and intensive cardiac care units. Of 772 patients, 535 patients were enrolled in the present analysis following the exclusion of 217 in-hospital deaths and 20 patients with missing medical records. Patients with triple GDMT (beta-blockers, renin-angiotensin system inhibitors, and mineralocorticoid receptor antagonists) at discharge (n=112) were likely to have lower left ventricular ejection fraction on admission and at discharge compared with those without triple GDMT (n=423) (22% versus 28%, P <0.001 and 29% versus 37%, P <0.001, respectively). In the overall cohort, the one-year mortality rate was 23%. Triple GDMT prescription was significantly associated with a lower one-year all-cause mortality compared with non-triple GDMT (adjusted hazard ratio 0.44 [95% CI, 0.19-0.80]; P =0.007). Similarly, 2:1 propensity score matching and inverse probability treatment weighting based on the propensity score demonstrated a lower incidence of one-year mortality in the triple GDMT group. As the number of HF drugs increased, a stepwise decrease in mortality was observed (log rank; P <0.001)., Conclusions: In survivors of CS, the one-year mortality rate was significantly lower in those with triple GDMT. Therefore, this study suggests that intensive HF therapy should be considered in patients following CS.

Heart failure is a chronic condition that affects millions of people worldwide and is associated with high morbidity and mortality. Remote monitoring, which includes the use of non-invasive connected devices, cardiac implantable electronic devices and haemodynamic monitoring systems, has the potential to improve outcomes for patients with heart failure. Despite the conceptual and clinical advantages, there are still limitations in the widespread use of these technologies. Moreover, a significant proportion of studies evaluating the benefit of remote monitoring in heart failure have focused on the limited area of prevention of rehospitalization after an episode of acute heart failure. A group of experts in the fields of heart failure and digital health worked on this topic in order to provide a practical paper for the use of remote monitoring in clinical practice at the different stages of the heart failure syndrome: (1) discovery of heart failure; (2) acute decompensation of chronic heart failure; (3) heart failure in stable period; and (4) advanced heart failure. A careful and critical analysis of the available literature was performed with the aim of providing caregivers with some recommendations on when and how to use remote monitoring in these different situations, specifying which variables are essential, optional or useless., (Copyright © 2023 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Aims: Iron deficiency (ID) occurs in about 50% of patients with heart failure (HF). The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) recommends ID diagnostic testing in newly diagnosed patients with HF and during follow-up, with intravenous iron supplementation (IS) only recommended in patients with HF with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). This study aimed to assess prevalence, clinical characteristics, and application of ESC guidelines for ID and IS in patients with HF in the real-life clinical setting., Methods and Results: The French transversal multicentre OFICSel registry (300 cardiologists) conducted in 2017 included patients hospitalized for HF at least once in the previous 5 years. Diverse adult patients were eligible including inpatients and outpatients and those with acute and chronic HF. Data were collected from cardiologists and patients using study-specific surveys. Data included demographic and clinical data, as well as HF and ID management data. Overall, 2822 patients, mainly male (69.3%) with a median age of 69 years (interquartile range 58-78), were included. A total of 1075 patients (38.1%) were tested for ID, with 364 (33.9%) diagnosed. Of these, 168 (46.2%) received IS: 128 (76.2%) intravenous IS and 40 (23.8%) oral. Among the 201 patients with HFrEF diagnosed with ID, 99 (49.3%) received IS: 79 (79.8%) intravenous IS and 20 (20.2%) oral., Conclusions: In clinical practice, only one-third of patients with HF had a diagnostic test for ID. In patients with ID with HFrEF, only 39.3% received intravenous IS as recommended. Thus, in general, cardiologists should be encouraged to follow the ESC guidelines to ensure optimal treatment for patients with HF., (© 2021 The Authors. ESC Heart Failure published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of European Society of Cardiology.)

Aims: The aim was to assess the effect of a telemonitoring programme vs. standard care (SC) in preventing all-cause deaths or unplanned hospitalisations in heart failure (HF) at 18 months., Methods and Results: OSICAT was a randomised, multicentre, open-label French study in 937 patients hospitalised for acute HF ≤12 months before inclusion. Patients were randomised to telemonitoring (daily body weight measurement, daily recording of HF symptoms, and personalised education) (n = 482) or to SC (n = 455). Mean ± standard deviation number of events for the primary outcome was 1.30 ± 1.85 for telemonitoring and 1.46 ± 1.98 for SC [rate ratio 0.97, 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.77-1.23; P = 0.80]. In New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III or IV HF, median time to all-cause death or first unplanned hospitalisation was 82 days in the telemonitoring group and 67 days in the SC group (P = 0.03). After adjustment for known predictive factors, telemonitoring was associated with a 21% relative risk reduction in first unplanned hospitalisation for HF [hazard ratio (HR) 0.79, 95% CI 0.62-0.99; P = 0.044); the relative risk reduction was 29% in patients with NYHA class III or IV HF (HR 0.71, 95% CI 0.53-0.95; P = 0.02), 38% in socially isolated patients (HR 0.62, 95% CI 0.39-0.98; P = 0.043), and 37% in patients who were ≥70% adherent to body weight measurement (HR 0.63, 95% CI 0.45-0.88; P = 0.006)., Conclusion: Telemonitoring did not result in a significantly lower rate of all-cause deaths or unplanned hospitalisations in HF patients. The pre-specified subgroup results suggest the telemonitoring approach improves clinical outcomes in selected populations but need further confirmation., (© 2020 European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: The first European Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy (CRT) Survey, conducted in 2008-2009, showed considerable variations in guideline adherence and implantation practice. A second prospective survey (CRT Survey II) was then performed to describe contemporary clinical practice regarding CRT among 42 European countries., Aim: To compare the characteristics of French CRT recipients with the overall European population of CRT Survey II., Methods: Demographic and procedural data from French centres recruiting all consecutive patients undergoing either de novo CRT implantation or an upgrade to a CRT system were collected and compared with data from the European population., Results: A total of 11,088 patients were enrolled in CRT Survey II, 754 of whom were recruited in France. French patients were older (44.7% aged≥75 years vs 31.1% in the European group), had less severe heart failure symptoms, a higher baseline left ventricular ejection fraction and fewer co-morbidities. Additionally, French patients had a shorter intrinsic QRS duration (19.1% had a QRS<130ms vs 12.3% in the European cohort). Successful implantation rates were similar, but procedural and fluoroscopy times were shorter in France. French patients were more likely to receive a CRT pacemaker than European patients overall. Of note, antibiotic prophylaxis was reported to be administered less frequently in France, and a higher rate of early device-related infection was observed. Importantly, French patients were less likely to receive optimal drugs for treating heart failure at hospital discharge., Conclusion: This study highlights contemporary clinical practice in France, and describes substantial differences in patient selection, implantation procedure and outcomes compared with the other European countries participating in CRT Survey II., (Copyright © 2019. Published by Elsevier Masson SAS.)

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is the standard of care for prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in high-risk patients. For primary prevention of SCD, in patients with ischaemic heart disease, there is more robust data on the effect of ICD therapy compared with patients with non-ischaemic heart disease, but current real-life practice may differ substantially. The aim of this European Heart Rhythm Association survey was to evaluate the clinical practice regarding implantation of ICD for primary prevention among European countries in patients with non-ischaemic and ischaemic heart disease. Furthermore, we wanted to investigate the impact of the results of the recently published DANISH trial on clinical practice among European countries. In total, 48 centres from 17 different countries responded to the questionnaire. The majority did not implant ICD for primary prevention on a regular basis in patients with non-ischaemic heart disease despite current guidelines. Also, centres have changed their indications after the recent report on the efficacy of ICD in these patients. In patients with ischaemic heart disease, the guidelines for primary prevention ICD were followed on a regular basis, and no relevant change in indications were reported., (Published on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology. All rights reserved. © The Author 2017. For permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.)

Despite the increasingly high rate of implantation of pacemakers (PMs) and implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) in elderly patients, data supporting their clinical and cost-effectiveness in this age stratum are ambiguous and contradictory. We reviewed the data regarding the applicability, safety and effectiveness of conventional pacing, ICDs and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in elderly patients. Although periprocedural risk may be slightly higher in the elderly, the implantation procedure for PMs and ICDs is still relatively safe in this age group. In older patients with sinus node disease, the general consensus is that DDD pacing with the programming of an algorithm to minimize ventricular pacing is preferred. In very old patients presenting with intermittent or suspected atrioventricular block, VVI pacing may be appropriate. In terms of correcting potentially life-threatening arrhythmias, the effectiveness of ICD therapy is similar in older and younger individuals. However, the assumption of persistent ICD benefit in the elderly population is questionable, as any advantageous effect of the device on arrhythmic death may be attenuated by higher total non-arrhythmic mortality. While septuagenarians and octogenarians have higher annual all-cause mortality rates, ICD therapy may remain effective in selected patients at high risk of arrhythmic death and with minimum comorbidities despite advanced age. ICD implantation among the elderly, as a group, may not be cost-effective, but the procedure may reach cost-effectiveness in those expected to live more than 5-7years after implantation. Elderly patients usually experience significant functional improvement after CRT, similar to that observed in middle-aged patients. Management of CRT non-responders remains globally the same, while considering a less aggressive approach in terms of reinterventions (revision of left ventricular [LV] lead placement, addition of a right ventricular or LV lead, LV endocardial pacing configuration). Overall, physiological age, general status and comorbidities rather than chronological age per se should be the decisive factors in making a decision about device implantation selection for survival and well-being benefit in elderly patients., (Copyright © 2016 Elsevier Masson SAS. All rights reserved.)

Aims: One option to improve cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) responder rates lies in the optimization of pacing intervals. A haemodynamic sensor embedded in the SonRtip atrial lead measures cardiac contractility and provides a systematic automatic atrioventricular and interventricular delays optimization. This multi-centre study evaluated the safety and performance of the lead, up to 1 year., Methods and Results: A total of 99 patients were implanted with the system composed of the lead and a CRT-Defibrillator device. Patients were followed at 1, 3, 6, and 12 months post-implant. The primary safety objective was to demonstrate that the atrial lead complication free rate was superior to 90% at 3-months follow-up visit. A lead handling questionnaire was filled by implanting investigators. Lead electrical performances and the performance of the system to compute AV and VV delays were evaluated at each study visit over 1 year. The complication free rate at 3 months post-implant was 99.0% [95%CI 94.5-100.0%], P < 0.001. Electrical performances of the lead were adequate whatever the atrial lead position and remained stable over the study period. The optimization algorithm was able to compute AV and VV delays in 97% of patients, during >75% of the weeks., Conclusion: The atrial lead is safe to implant and shows stable electrical performance over time. It therefore offers a promising tool for automatic CRT optimization to further improve responder rates to CRT., (© The Author 2015. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the European Society of Cardiology.)

Background: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is the predominant cause of mortality in patients with mild heart failure (HF). This 2-year follow-up, multicenter, cohort study aimed to assess the extent to which implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), by reducing SCD, lead to predominant progressive HF death in mildly symptomatic HF patients at baseline in daily medical practice., Methods: Between June 2001 and June 2003, 1,030 New York Heart Association II patients received an ICD in 22 French centers. Sudden cardiac death and progressive HF mortality rates were assessed using competing risk methodology, and predictors for progressive HF at baseline were tested in a multivariate regression model., Results: During a mean follow-up of 22 +/- 6 months, 114 deaths occurred: 12 (10.5%) due to SCD and 52 (45.6%) due to progressive HF (24-month cause-specific mortality rates of 1.2% [95% CI 0.6-1.9] and 5.4% [95% CI 4.0-6.8], respectively). Diuretics use (hazard ratio [HR] 2.8, 95% CI 1.5-5.5, P = .002), history of atrial fibrillation (HR 2.09, 95% CI 1.2-3.65, P = .01), and low ejection fraction (HR 2.7, 95% CI 1.4-4.8, P = .0008) were independent predictors for progressive HF death, whereas beta-blocker therapy was a protector (HR 0.6, 95% CI 0.3-0.9, P = .04). Half of the patients (48%) who died from progressive HF within 2 years of ICD implant initially presented with enlarged QRS (> or =120 milliseconds)., Conclusions: Because of ICD efficiency, progressive HF is the main cause of death within 2 years of implant, although these patients are only mildly symptomatic at implantation. In addition to optimal pharmacologic therapy, these results raise the question of systematically implanting ICDs with cardiac resynchronization therapy in patients with electrical asynchronism at baseline., (Copyright 2010 Mosby, Inc. All rights reserved.)

Unlabelled: Left ventricular-based pacing is an established method for treatment of congestive heart failure in patients with ventricular dyssynchrony. The transvenous epicardial approach is the method of choice to pace the left ventricle., Aims: To evaluate short and long-term stability and pacing and sensing performance of an S-shaped non-steroid unipolar lead., Methods: Forty-eight procedures were performed in 43 consecutive patients (mean age: 70+/-8 years, 32 males) with severe congestive heart failure. The left ventricular lead was placed into a coronary sinus tributary. Pacing and sensing thresholds and pacing impedance were measured at implant, 1 and 6 months., Results: The mean procedure time was 90.0+/-35.5 min. Pacing thresholds at implant, 1 and 6 months were 1.1+/-0.8 V, 1.9+/-1.3 V and 1.9+/-1.5 V respectively. In 7 patients, lead implantation was unsuccessful. One of them had a successful second attempt. Lead revision was performed in 5 patients for loss of capture., Conclusion: The S-shaped unipolar lead evaluated in this study provides stable long-term position and pacing thresholds. Recent improvement of this S-shaped lead model will hopefully reduce the rate of implantation failures and acute dislodgements., (Copyright 2003 The European Society of Cardiology. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.)

Objective: The purpose of this study is to report prospectively the results of six-month follow-up of permanent left ventricular (LV) based pacing in patients with severe congestive heart failure (CHF) and left bundle branch block (LBBB)., Background: Left ventricular pacing alone has been demonstrated to result in identical improvement compared to biventricular pacing (BiV) during acute hemodynamic evaluation in patients with advanced CHF and LBBB. However, to our knowledge, the clinical outcome during permanent LV pacing alone versus BiV pacing mode has not been evaluated., Methods: Pacing configuration (LV or BiV) was selected according to the physician's preference. Patient evaluation was performed at baseline and at six months., Results: Thirty-three patients with advanced CHF and LBBB were included. Baseline characteristics of LV (18 patients) and BiV (15 patients) pacing groups were similar. During the six-month follow-up period, seven patients died three BiV and four LV). In the surviving patients at 6 months, 8 of 14 patients in the LV group and 9 of 12 in the BiV group were in New York Heart Association class I or II (p = 0.39). No significant difference was observed between the two groups in terms of objective parameters except for LV end-diastolic diameter decrease (-4.4 mm in BiV group vs. -0.7 mm in LV group; p = 0.04)., Conclusion: At six-month follow-up, a trend toward improvement was observed in objective parameters in patients with severe CHF and LBBB following LV-based pacing. The two pacing modes (LV and BiV) were associated with almost equivalent improvement of subjective and objective parameters.

Background: Beneficial effects of left ventricular (LV)-based pacing on acute hemodynamic parameters were reported in several series, but only a few studies examined the long-term effects of this new pacing procedure., Aims: To assess long-term effects of permanent LV-based pacing on LV function and mitral regurgitation (MR) in patients with refractory congestive heart failure (CHF)., Methods: A prospective evaluation of LV function and MR was performed in 23 patients with severe but stable CHF and left bundle branch block (mean QRS: 186+/-31 ms) by radionuclide and echocardiographic techniques at baseline and 6 months after implantation of a permanent LV-based (LV alone: 13 patients; biventricular: 10 patients) pacemaker programmed either in a DDD mode (sinus rhythm; n=14) or in a VVIR mode (atrial fibrillation; n=9)., Results: Compared to baseline, the 6 months follow-up visit demonstrated a significant increase in radionuclide derived LV ejection fraction from 23.3+/-7 to 26.2+/-7% (P<0.01) and in echocardiographic LV fractional shortening from 13+/-4 to 16+/-6% (P<0.05), without any change in cardiac index, a significant decrease in LV end-diastolic diameter (from 73.2+/-6 to 71.2+/-7 mm; P<0.05), end-systolic diameter (from 63.6+/-6 to 60.2+/-8 mm; P<0.05) and color Doppler MR jet area (from 11.5+/-6 to 6.6+/-4 cm(1); P<0.001). A comparison of patients with LV pacing alone and patients with biventricular pacing showed similar beneficial effects of pacing on MR severity in the two subgroups and a non-significant trend for a better improvement of LV function during biventricular pacing., Conclusion: Thus, in patients with severe CHF and left bundle branch block, permanent LV-based pacing may significantly improve LV systolic function and decrease MR.

Aims: Assessment of complications following implantation of transvenous ventricular electrodes to pace the left ventricle., Methods and Results: Twenty-eight patients with severe cardiac failure and left bundle branch block were prospectively followed for adverse effects of implantation of a left ventricular transvenous pacing system. Immediate follow-up was associated with loss of left ventricular pacing in nine patients (32%). This was due to lead dislodgement in four cases (corrected by re-operation in three of these cases), and due to increased threshold in five cases (corrected by programming a higher pacing amplitude in all five cases, but with intermittent diaphragmatic contraction in one case). After 1 month, one patient died, one patient with severe coronary heart disease suffered a myocardial infarction, and left ventricular pacing was lost in two patients. Pericardial effusion, new significant ventricular arrhythmias or other adverse effects were not observed. After a mean follow-up of 16 +/- 9.2 months, pacing leads remained stable and no late complications related to the transvenous left ventricular epicardial pacing were observed., Conclusion: Placement of a permanent lead in a tributary of the coronary sinus is feasible without serious adverse effects during the first month. The only frequent adverse event was lead dislodgement; a finding which emphasizes the need for development of specially designed leads for this application.

SEARCH FOR AN ALTERNATIVE TREATMENT: The concept of stimulating the ventricle to improve heart function in patients with severe heart failure is an old one, but the first published series was reported about 10 years ago and provided encouraging results that lead to numerous other studies. A PROMISING TECHNIQUE: Excepting a few patients with a long PR, stimulation of the right ventricle is ineffective or even deleterious. Stimulation of the lateral region of the left ventricle has produced some undeniably favorable and sometimes even spectacular improvement in hemodynamic performances. Permanent stimulation of both ventricles or the left ventricle produces an overall clinical improvement in patients with severe heart failure (NYHA III or IV) and major left intraventricular conduction disorders (QRS > 140 ms). These results have been recently confirmed in a prospective randomized trial. CAREFUL OPEN QUESTIONS: There is no fully satisfactory explanation for the improvement which, it is important to note, does not occur in all patients. A more homogeneous contraction of the left ventricle certainly plays a fundamental role. Resynchronization of the two ventricles with dual stimulation is more complex and costly and remains to be evaluated. One crucial question is currently being examined: what is the effect of stimulation on the high mortality in these patients?

Background: Acute left ventricular-based pacing has been shown to improve hemodynamics in patients with severe heart failure and left bundle branch block (LBBB). However, it is not known whether the cause of the underlying heart disease influences the potential effect of left ventricular-based pacing., Objectives: The aim of this study was to determine whether beneficial hemodynamic effects of acute left ventricular-based pacing in severe chronic heart failure are dependent on underlying heart disease., Methods: After coronary angiography, patients with severe heart failure and LBBB were separated into two groups: dilated (25 patients; 20 male) and ischemic cardiomyopathy (21 patients; 20 male). Hemodynamic parameters were evaluated at baseline and during left ventricular-based pacing., Results: Improvement in hemodynamic parameters were similar in both groups, during acute left ventricular pacing (changes expressed in percentage): pulmonary capillary wedge pressure, -16+/-15% vs. -14+/-10%; V wave amplitude, -25+/-18% vs. -21+/-17%; and biventricular pacing, -15+/-15% vs. -11+/-11% and -23+/-18% vs. -16+/-18%, respectively., Conclusion: Underlying heart disease does not influence the response to acute left ventricular-based pacing in patients with severe heart failure and LBBB. This finding provides support for including all patients with enlarged heart and heart failure in future studies evaluating left ventricular-based pacing.

Acute hemodynamic data of left ventricular based pacing were assessed in 2 groups of patients with severe cardiac failure: 11 patients with atrial fibrillation and 17 patients with sinus rhythm. Both biventricular and left ventricular pacing significantly improved acute hemodynamic findings to a similar degree in both groups, suggesting that left ventricular based pacing may be beneficial in patients with severe cardiac failure regardless of whether or not they are in sinus rhythm.

Background: Multisite ventricular pacing has recently been proposed as an additional treatment for patients with severe congestive heart failure. To further assess the potential value of this technique, we compared the acute hemodynamic changes associated with pacing the right ventricular apex (RVA) or outflow tract (RVOT) alone, the left ventricle (LV) alone, or biventricular (BIV) pacing of the RVA and LV together., Methods and Results: Acute hemodynamic findings were measured in 27 patients with severe heart failure despite optimal therapy and either first-degree AV block and/or an intraventricular conduction defect. In the 23 patients with a high pulmonary capillary wedge pressure (PCWP) (>15 mm Hg), data were collected after transvenous pacing at different ventricular sites in either the VDD mode (AV delay=100 ms) or the VVI mode in patients with atrial fibrillation (n=6). The mean baseline cardiac index was 1.82 L x min(-1) x m(-2). Mean+/-SD baseline systolic blood pressure (SBP) (118.5+/-15.2 mm Hg), PCWP (26.4+/-6.6 mm Hg), and V-wave amplitude (39.1+/-14.6 mm Hg) were similar before and after either RVA or RVOT pacing. In contrast, LV-based pacing (either LV alone or BIV pacing) resulted in higher SBP (P<.03) and lower PCWP (P<.01) and V-wave amplitude (P<.001) than either baseline or RV pacing measurements. With LV pacing alone, SBP, PCWP, and V waves were 126.5+/-15.1, 20.7+/-5.9, and 25.5+/-8.1 mm Hg, respectively. The results with LV pacing alone were similar to those obtained with BIV pacing., Conclusions: In patients with severe congestive heart failure, both LV pacing alone and BIV pacing resulted in a similar and significant acute improvement in SBP, PCWP, and V-wave amplitude compared with baseline measurements and RV pacing alone. These results provide a strong basis for initiating long-term studies examining the chronic effects of LV-based pacing in patients with medically refractory congestive heart failure.

We prospectively evaluated the long-term prognosis of 14 patients with alcoholic cardiomyopathy and severe end-stage congestive heart failure after total abstinence. Improvement was very significant after 6 months of follow-up in most patients, and continued thereafter.