CardioExchange Archive

September 11th, 2012

Updated Rhythm Device Guidelines Clarify and Expand CRT Criteria

Larry Husten, PHD

A newly released update of 2008 guidelines for device-based therapy of cardiac arrhythmias contains some much-needed clarification about indications for cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). The document was developed jointly by the American Heart Association, the American College of Cardiology, and the Heart Rhythm Society. Highlights of the documents include: The Class 1 recommendation for CRT for patients with […]

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September 12th, 2011

Study Finds Risks and Costs Associated with Infection After Device Implantation

Larry Husten, PHD

A large new study has found significant risks and costs associated with infections following the implantation of CIEDs (cardiovascular implantable electronic devices), including ICDs, CRT-Ds, and pacemakers. In a paper published in Archives of Internal Medicine, Muhammad Sohail and colleagues analyzed Medicare data from more than 200,000 patients admitted for CIED implantation, replacement, or revision in 2007, including  5817 admissions with infection. Infection […]

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June 14th, 2011

CRT for HF Patients with Moderately Prolonged QRS Interval: Unethical?

Larry Husten, PHD

Approximately 40% of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices are implanted in patients with QRS intervals below 150 msecs, but a meta-analysis published in Archives in Internal Medicine finds that these patients may not benefit from the device. Ilke Sipahi and colleagues performed a meta-analysis that included five CRT clinical trials (COMPANION, CARE-HF, REVERSE, MADIT-CRT, RAFT) with […]

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February 14th, 2011

CRT Found Beneficial in Less Severe Heart-Failure Patients

Larry Husten, PHD

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) appears to be beneficial in patients with less severe heart failure (NYHA class I and II), according to a new systematic review published online in Annals of Internal Medicine. In a previous analysis, Nawaf Al-Majed and colleagues had found that CRT was highly beneficial in HF patients with NYHA class III and IV […]

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November 14th, 2010

A Life-RAFT for Patients with HF?

Arthur J. Moss, MD

CardioExchange welcomes Arthur Moss, Professor of Medicine at the University of Rochester School of Medicine and lead investigator of the MADIT-CRT trial, to discuss his New England Journal of Medicine editorial on the RAFT trial, in which patients with mild-to-moderate HF were randomized to receive either an ICD alone or ICD plus CRT.  It seems […]

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November 14th, 2010

ICD-CRT Found Beneficial in RAFT

Larry Husten, PHD

RAFT (Resynchronization-Defibrillation for Ambulatory Heart Failure Trial) randomized 1798 patients with NYHA class II or III heart failure, LVEF < 30%, and a wide QRS complex to either an ICD alone or an ICD-CRT. After a mean followup of 40 months, the rate of death or heart failure hospitalization was 40.3% in the ICD group […]

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