Impact of multipoint pacing on projected battery longevity in cardiac resynchronization therapy. An IRON-MPP study...

Multipoint pacing (MPP) may improve clinical outcomes in patients with cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-D), but its impact on battery longevity in a real-world population has not been investigated in large trials.

Compare projected battery longevity in CRT-D patients with and without MPP during long-term follow-up.

The Italian registry on multipoint left ventricular pacing (IRON-MPP) is a prospective, multicenter registry of patients implanted with MPP-capable CRT-D devices. Projected battery longevity during follow-up was compared for patients with MPP (MPP ON) vs single-site (MPP OFF) left ventricular pacing at CRT-D implantation. A sub-analysis excluded crossover patients with MPP activation or deactivation occurring after implantation. A second sub-analysis excluded patients with a right or left ventricular pacing amplitude >2.5 V.

Out of 237 CRT-D patients (71 ± 9 years, 81% male) followed for 1.9 ± 0.8 years, 102 (43%) had MPP ON at implantation. Programmed atrial and ventricular outputs and percentage of pacing were similar between groups. MPP was associated with a 0.44 years reduction in projected battery longevity (P = .03) during long-term follow-up. Results were similar for the first and second sub-analyses, with a 0.57 years (P < .001) and 0.71 years (P < .001) reduction in projected longevity, respectively.

In this long-term real-world registry, early MPP activation is associated with less than a 1-year reduction in projected battery life compared to single-site biventricular pacing.