Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Overview

Physicians at the Massachusetts General Hospital Corrigan Minehan Heart Center offer cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) or CRT-D (CRT with defibrillator therapy) as an innovative therapeutic option for patients with refractory heart failure. Many patients with heart failure experience an abnormality in the pumping of the heart’s ventricles and need special treatment to synchronize the pumping.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy involves the placement of an implantable biventricular pacing device with three leads (right atrial, right ventricular and left ventricular) that synchronize ventricular contractions. This greatly improves the pumping efficiency of the heart.

Cardiac resynchronization therapy is associated with:

• Improved quality of life
• Increased exercise capacity
• Reduction in hospitalization for heart failure
• Reduction in mortality rates

Cardiac resynchronization therapy has gained widespread acceptance as a safe, effective therapy for qualifying patients with advanced heart failure.