Predictors of long-term survival in Japanese patients with heart failure with reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF) treated with cardiac resynchronization therapy-defibrillators (CRT-D).

BACKGROUND: Reports on the factors predicting long-term survival of CRT-D cases from Western countries are increasing, however, those from Asia including Japan are still sparse. We aimed to clarify the factors predicting long-term survival of Japanese CRT-D cases. METHODS: We retrospectively analyzed consecutive 133 patients who underwent CRT-D implantation between 2006 and 2021. We compared clinical factors between patients who died within 5 years after implantation (short-survival group: n = 31) and who had survived for more than 5 years (long-survival group: n = 36) after implantation. RESULTS: Major underlying heart diseases were dilated cardiomyopathy (45%) and ischemic heart disease (12%). There was no difference between the short-survival group and the long-survival group in incidence of CLBBB (32% vs. 30%), whereas CRBBB was more common in the short-survival group (26% vs. 0%, p = .004). Mechanical dyssynchrony at implantation was more frequent in the long-survival group (48% vs. 78%, p = .02). The incidence of response to CRT at 1 year after implantation was higher in long-survival group (19% vs. 50%, p = .02). Multiple logistic regression analysis identified NYHA class, mechanical dyssynchrony at implantation, and response at one year as predictors of long-term survival. CONCLUSIONS: In Japanese CRT-D cases, lower NHYA class, preexisting mechanical dyssynchrony, and 1-year response to CRT predict long-term survival.

Clinical impact of nocturnal ventricular tachyarrythmias in electrical storm.

BACKGROUND: The incidence of electrical storm (ES) is significantly higher during the daytime. However, the association between nocturnal ventricular tachyarrythmias during ES and prognosis remains unclear. Therefore, this study aimed to investigate the clinical characteristics and outcomes of ES with midnight ventricular tachyarrythmias. METHODS: We included 48 consecutive patients who had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator implanted between 2010 and 2020 and those who had experienced the onset of an out-of-hospital ES episode. According to the midnight (0:00 a.m.-6:00 a.m.) occurrence of ventricular arrythmia events consisting of ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF), we divided them into two groups (with-midnight group: n = 27, without-midnight group: n = 21). The clinical characteristics and outcomes of the two groups were compared. RESULTS: The patients in the with-midnight group were mostly males, had longer QRS duration, and longer corrected QT-interval than those in the without-midnight group (p < .05). The incidence of all-cause death, especially heart failure death, was higher in the with-midnight group than in the without-midnight group (p < .01). Multivariate analysis showed that the presence of midnight VT/VF during ES was the only independent risk factors for heart failure death (HR = 18.9, 95%CI = 1.98-181, p = .011). CONCLUSIONS: The presence of midnight VT/VF during ES might be associated with the poor prognosis. The loss of a sympathetic circadian pattern of VT/VF distribution during ES might suggest advanced stages of the cardiac disease.