Biventricular pacing: current trends and future strategies

The role of biventricular pacing is expanding beyond the New York Heart Association classes III and IV heart failure (HF) patient to include less symptomatic patients, earlier in the course of their disease process. This multisite pacing strategy has substantially altered the natural course of ventricular failure, exerting its physiological impact through favourable cardiac remodelling and improving the ejection fraction. This has in turn resulted in long-term clinical benefits such as improved quality of life and functional capacity with a concomitant reduction in hospitalization for HF and overall mortality. Despite the successes of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) and the recent expansion of its role in the treatment of HF patients, there remain some inherent limitations to the technology and its delivery. A significant minority of patients continue to remain non-responsive to this pacing strategy. This review will highlight biventricular pacing in its present form, will elaborate on strategies to enhance response to CRT, and outline future trends and synergies towards maximizing the potential benefit of this therapeutic modality.