title: The effect of concomitant cardiac resynchronization therapy on quality of life in patients with heart failure undergoing cardiac surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To evaluate the effect of concomitant cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on health related quality of life (QoL) in patients with heart failure (HF) and ventricular dyssynchrony undergoing cardiac surgery.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-eight patients received permanent epicardial CRT in connection to coronary artery bypass grafting (CABG) and/or aortic valve replacement (AVR) (CRT group). Thirty-seven HF patients without concomitant CRT served as a comparison group (non-CRT group). SF-36 was used to assess QoL in the two groups and was also compared with the general Swedish population.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The median follow-up time was 28 months after surgery (range 8 to 44 months). No difference in QoL could be shown between the CRT group and the comparison group. Several subscales of QoL in the CRT group were in range with the general Swedish population.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Concomitant CRT for patients with HF and ventricular dyssynchrony undergoing CABG and/or AVR did not result in a higher estimated QoL compared to HF patients without CRT.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Institution of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Thorén
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology, Institution of Medical Sciences, Umeå, Sweden.
authors.forename: Milos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Kesek
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiothoracic Surgery, Institution of Surgical Sciences, Uppsala, Sweden.
authors.forename: Lena
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Jidéus
keywords: Aortic valve replacemen; cardiac resynchronization therapy; coronary artery bypass grafting; heart failure; quality of life.; ven-tricular dyssynchrony