title: A Critical Reappraisal of the Current Clinical Indications to Cardiac Resynchronisation Therapy.
abstract: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT) is a well-established non-pharmacological treatment option for patients with refractory symptomatic heart failure (HF) already under optimal medical therapy. CRT is founded on the principle that interventricular conduction disturbances and more in particular left bundle branch block (LBBB) are deleterious to cardiac performance, and may contribute to the systolic and diastolic incompetency typical of patients with HF. Although CRT is associated with a not negligible percentage of non-response, all the international guidelines on chronic HF have extended their indications to CRT, also to patients with less symptomatic HF who are already showing signs of systolic dysfunction and interventricular dyssynchrony, without giving any substantial advice to reduce the number of failures of this therapy. This review seeks to point out the potential issues linked to CRT, with the aim of making a reappraisal of the clinical evidences supporting the current indications to CRT, and to figure out which type of research should be warranted in the field for the future to reduce the percentage of non-responders to this therapy.
authors.affiliation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology Department, Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sorgente
authors.affiliation: Arrhythmia and Electrophysiology Department, Policlinico San Donato, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Cappato
keywords: Cardiac resynchronisation therapy; NYHA class II; heart failure; left bundle branch block
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