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Prognostic importance of postoperative QRS widening in patients with heart failure receiving cardiac resynchronization therapy
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International audience. BACKGROUND Landmark reports have suggested that patients with QRS widening immediately after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) experienced less frequently reverse left ventricular remodeling during follow-up. OBJECTIVE We sought to investigate the relationship between postoperative QRS widening relative to baseline and mortality in a prospective cohort of heart failure patients receiving CRT. METHODS A 12-lead electrocardiogram was recorded for 237 heart failure patients (New York Heart Association class II to IV, left ventricular ejection fraction <= 35%, and QRS width >= 120 ms) before and immediately after CRT device implantation. The relationships between QRS widening, all-cause and cardiovascular mortality, and echocardiographic response to CRT were studied. RESULTS During a median follow-up of 24 months, 39 patients died. Fifty patients (21%) experienced QRS widening after CRT [QRS (+) group]. During follow-up, all-cause mortality was higher in QRS (+) patients than in QRS(-) patients (36-month survival free from death 81% +/- 7% vs 64% 16%; log rank, P = .029). After adjustment for important prognostic confounders, QRS(+) patients remained associated with an excess overall mortality (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 2.67; 95% confidence interval 1.07-6.65; P = .035) and cardiovascular mortality (adjusted hazard ratio 3.63; 95% confidence interval 1.13-11.65; P = .03). QRS(+) patients were less frequent responders to CRT than were QRS(-) patients (20 [47%] vs 136 [83%]; P < .0001). CONCLUSION Postoperative QRS widening relative to baseline after CRT is associated with a considerable increased mortality risk during follow-up. Whether QRS narrowing should be achieved to optimize CRT placement, and thereby increase the rate of CRT responders and improve outcome, deserves further research.