title: Cardiac resynchronization therapy for CHF. The rewards and risks of biventricular pacing.
abstract: Patients with advanced heart failure continue to experience high morbidity and mortality despite recent progress made with the use of such drugs as beta-blockers and angiotensin-aldosterone inhibitors. Cardiac transplantation has severe limitations due to the short supply of organs and the ineligibility of most CHF patients for this therapy. Approved heart-assist devices are cumbersome and costly. Therefore, these devices are currently used mainly in tertiary care centers in a limited number of patients. CRT has been rapidly evolving as a viable and beneficial therapy that is universally applicable by percutaneous method in patients with moderate or severe heart failure. Its relative ease of use and cost-effectiveness make it an attractive option for patients with symptomatic heart failure. Therefore, more physicians are becoming aware of the low threshold for its use.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, OH 44195, USA. sanjeevwasson@hotmail.com
authors.forename: Sanjeev
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wasson
authors.forename: Donald J
authors.initials: DJ
authors.lastname: Voelker
authors.forename: Pitt
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Vesom
authors.forename: William R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Wilson
authors.forename: Hanumanth K
authors.initials: HK
authors.lastname: Reddy
mesh_terms: D001283:Atrioventricular Node / Q000503:physiopathology; D002037:Bundle-Branch Block / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000191:economics; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D007431:Intraoperative Complications; D010138:Pacemaker, Artificial / Q000191:economics; D011183:Postoperative Complications