CRT plus ICD in congestive heart failure - Use of cardiac resynchronization therapy and an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in heart failure patients with abnormal left ventricular dysfunction

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) significantly improves functional status, exercise duration, left ventricular (LV) ejection fraction, death from progressive congestive heart failure (CHF), and hospitalization for CHIF in patients with mode rate-to-severe CHF, an abnormal LV ejection fraction, and a QRS duration on the electrocardiogram of :120 msec or more. In these patients, CRT reduces all-cause mortality, though not significantly. However, CRT plus an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) significantly reduces all-cause mortality. Compared with placebo, ICD therapy significantly reduced all-cause mortality by 33% in patients with class II or III CHF, an abnormal LV ejection fraction, and a QRS duration on the electrocardiogram of 120 msec or more.