Comparison of six-month outcomes and hospitalization rates in heart failure patients with and without preserved left ventricular ejection fraction and with and without intraventricular conduction defect

Prolonged QRS duration (>120 ms), as a marker of ventricular dyssynchrony, is an independent predictor of mortality in systolic heart failure (HF). Little information exists about the characteristics of patients with preserved ejection fractions (EFs) and prolonged QRS (intraventricular conduction defects [IVCDs]). The electronic records of 334 consecutive patients hospitalized with acutely decompensated HF were reviewed. A significant number of patients hospitalized with decompensated HF had preserved EFs with IVCD. They had similar readmission and mortality rates compared with their systolic HF counterparts and higher rates compared with those with preserved EFs without IVCD. These findings and the resulting possible therapeutic interventions (resynchronization) need further analysis in a larger prospective cohort. (C) 2006 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.