The association of mechanical dyssynchrony and resynchronization therapy with survival in heart failure with a wide QRS complex: a two-world study

Setting up a randomized trial to assess the association of mechanical dyssynchrony (MD) and the success of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) in heart failure with a wide QRS complex is ethically challenging. We therefore investigated this association in a retrospective cohort study observing different treatment strategies which were chosen based on the availability of health care resources. The survival of 500 patients from six Western European centers treated with CRT was compared to their 137 Eastern European counterparts not treated with CRT, with regard to the presence of MD. MD was visually assessed and was defined as the presence of apical rocking and/or septal flash. Patients were followed for a mean of 26 ± 8 months for the occurrence of death of any cause. As compared with medical therapy alone, CRT was associated with a more favorable survival (hazard ratio (HR), 0.53; 95% confidence interval (CI) 0.35–0.79; P = 0.002). Patients with MD treated by CRT had better survival than patients belonging to all other groups—they showed 72%, 66% and 56% reduction in all-cause mortality, respectively, compared to patients with MD not treated by CRT (HR 0.28; 95% CI 0.17–0.44), patients without MD treated by CRT (HR 0.34; 95% CI 0.22–0.52) and patients without MD not treated by CRT (HR 0.44; 95% CI 0.25–0.76). Patients with wide QRS complex who are treated with CRT have a significantly better survival when MD is present.