AIMS To assess long-term effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony and contractile function, by two-dimensional speckle-tracking echocardiography, compared with implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) only in MADIT-CRT. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 761 patients in New York Heart Association I/II, ejection fraction ≤30%, and QRS ≥130 ms [n ...

Estimates of the benefits antifraud enforcement in health care typically focus on direct monetary damages. Deterrence effects are acknowledged but unquantified. We evaluate impact a Department Justice investigation hospitals accused billing Medicare for unnecessary implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) procedures their use. Using 100 % inpatient and outpatient procedure data from Florida, we ...

BackgroundThe Heart Failure (HF) Meta-score may be useful in predicting prognosis patients with primary prevention cardiac resynchronization defibrillators (CRT-D) considering the competing risk of appropriate defibrillator shock versus mortality.MethodsData from 648 consecutive two centers were used for evaluation performance HF Meta-score. The endpoint was mortality and secondary time to firs...

The major risks associated with coronary disease are angina, acute myocardial infarction, reduced cardiac function as manifest by depressed left ventricular ejection fraction and congestive heart failure, and sudden arrhythmogenic cardiac death. During the past three decades, considerable advances have been made in the management of patients with coronary heart disease with betablockers, calciu...

Abstract Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Background Left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP) has emerged as a promising technique to deliver cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Purpose We sought evaluate the feasibility single LBBAP lead connected dual-chamber ICD in patients indicated with CRT-D implantation. Methods The CROSS-LEFT study prospectively included consec...

AIMS Current guidelines recommend implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in patients with the reduced left ventricular function (LVEF ≤30%) not earlier than 40 days after myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of the prospective Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death II (PreSCD II) registry was to investigate the clinical practice of ICD the...

Electrical storm (ES) refers to a life-threatening condition characterised by three or more episodes of ventricular tachycardia (VT), fibrillation (VF), appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks in 24 hours. We report case 58-year-old man who suffered recurrent sustained VT despite defibrillation and antiarrhythmic drug therapy. On stepwise evaluation, arrhythmogenic right...

An 81-year-old man was referred with an infected cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator (CRT-D) system. His initial dualchamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) had been implanted 8 years earlier and upgraded to a CRT-D system 2 years before referral. Epicardial atrial and left ventricular (LV) leads were subsequently added after the endocardial LV lead lost capture. The en...

BACKGROUND Due to extended indications and resynchronization therapy, many implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) recipients will experience progressive co-morbid conditions and will be more likely to die of causes other than cardiac death. It is therefore important to elucidate the ICD patients' preferences when nearing end-of-life. Instead of avoiding the subject of end-of-life, a valid...

OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to assess a possible association between myocardial substrate, implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks, and subsequent mortality. METHODS Within the multicentre automatic defibrillator implantation trial-cardiac resynchronization therapy (MADIT-CRT) population (n = 1790), we investigated the association between myocardial substrate, ICD s...