Over-time mitral regurgitation changes following cardiac resynchronization therapy.

PURPOSE: Mitral regurgitation (MR) is a leading cause of mortality in patients with heart failure (HF). Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to improve MR in these patients, but maintenance of MR improvement after CRT implantation has not yet been evaluated. We aimed to evaluate the post-CRT improvement pattern of MR in a 6-month follow-up period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 65 consecutive patients scheduled for CRT implantation with inclusion criteria of moderate to severe heart failure, left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) 120 ms with left bundle branch block configuration were invited to participate. 60 patients with MR were registered. Clinical, electrocardiographic and echocardiographic evaluations were recorded before CRT implantation and 3 and 6 months after. RESULTS: We found significant improvement in MR score, NYHA class, QRS duration, LVEF and left ventricular end diastolic diameter (LVEDD) at the 3-month follow-up (p<0.001). These parameters also improved significantly (p<0.0001) between the 3 and 6-month follow-ups except for the MR score, which did not show any significant improvement. CONCLUSION: MR improvement was sustained after CRT implantation between the 3 and 6-month follow-ups.