Cardiac resynchronisation therapy: results from daily practice in Rijnstate Hospital, Arnhem

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Medical Devices
• Heart Failure Management

Background:

• Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is established for heart failure, but real-world clinical consequences require further evaluation.
• Optimal pharmacological therapy preceded CRT implantation in eligible patients.
• This study assesses CRT outcomes in a single center's patient cohort.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the clinical outcomes of cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) in a real-world clinical setting.
• To analyze implantation procedures, hospitalizations, mortality, and device-related events in CRT patients.
• To compare single-center CRT outcomes with published data.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective analysis of 119 consecutive patients undergoing CRT implantation between November 2000 and January 2006.
• Data collection included implantation success rates, procedural complications, hospital admissions (cardiac and non-cardiac causes), mortality causes, and device-related events.
• Five-year cumulative survival was estimated.

Main Results:

• CRT implantation was successful in 97% of patients, with a low prevalence of procedural complications (8 patients).
• During follow-up, 22 patients (18.5%) died from various causes, including heart failure (11) and sudden cardiac death (4).
• The estimated five-year cumulative survival was 70%, with 81 hospitalizations, predominantly for cardiac reasons (77).

Conclusions:

• The study demonstrated a high procedural success rate and low mortality for CRT, aligning favorably with other research.
• Despite improvements in functional capacity, a significant rate of heart failure-related hospitalizations persisted in daily practice.
• Single-center data suggests CRT is safe and effective, but ongoing management of heart failure remains crucial.