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Updated: Jun 23, 2026

Benefits of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in an Asynchronous Heart Failure Model Induced by Left Bundle Branch Ablation and Rapid Pacing
Published on: December 11, 2017
Improved erectile function after cardiac resynchronization therapy in a patient with heart failure-a case report
Damian Domanski1, Salvatore Rosanio, Ernst R Schwarz
1Cedars Sinai Heart Institute, Los Angeles, CA 90048, USA.
Introduction:
Erectile dysfunction (ED) is very common among heart failure patients and has a very dramatic, negative impact on patients' quality of life. Both ED and heart failure have several risk factors in common; however, little data exist on the correlation between the heart failure-targeted interventions and improvement of ED.
Aim:
To report a case of improved sexual function after cardiac resynchronization.
Methods:
We report the case of a 63-year-old man with ischemic cardiomyopathy and long-standing ED, who experienced significant improvement of his sexual function following biventricular pacing device implantation. Notably, earlier interventions attempting to improve his ED, namely, heart failure medication adjustments and phosphodiesterase-5 inhibitors, have failed.
Results:
Following cardiac resynchronization therapy, patient's erectile function improved without any other ED-specific treatment.
Conclusions:
To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report of improved sexual function in a patient with heart failure and ED following cardiac resynchronization therapy. Although the exact mechanisms remain unknown, we believe that cardiac resynchronization improves ED through improved cardiac and endothelial function.
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