title: First use of cardiac contractility modulation (CCM) in a patient failing CRT therapy: clinical and technical aspects of combined therapies.
abstract: Cardiac contractility modulating (CCM) signals delivered by the OPTIMIZER System are being investigated as a treatment for medically refractory heart failure. Previous chronic studies of CCM have excluded patients with prolonged QRS and a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device. However, symptoms persist in more than 25% of these CRT patients. CCM may offer a therapeutic option for these non-responders. Here we report the first use of CCM signals in a patient who did not respond to treatment with a CRT-D device. We show that the implantation is technically feasible, that the OPTIMIZER and CRT-D devices can coexist without interference and that acute haemodynamic and clinical improvements can be observed. The results suggest that systematic investigation of CCM treatment in CRT non-responders is warranted.
authors.affiliation: Heart Center Brandenburg in Bernau/Berlin, Department of Cardiology, Ladeburger Str. 17, 16321 Bernau b. Berlin, Germany. c.butter@immanuel.de
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Butter
authors.forename: Jürgen
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Meyhöfer
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Seifert
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Neuss
authors.forename: Hans-Heinrich
authors.initials: HH
authors.lastname: Minden
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial / Q000379:methods*; D003131:Combined Modality Therapy; D004567:Electrodes, Implanted; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009200:Myocardial Contraction