Avances tecnológicos para mejorar la respuesta ventricular en la resincronización cardiaca: lo que el clínico debe conocer

Conduction System Pacing for Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) via biventricular pacing (BiVP-CRT) is considered a mainstay treatment for symptomatic heart failure patients with reduced ejection fraction and wide QRS. However, up to one-third of patients receiving BiVP-CRT are considered non-responders to the therapy. Multiple strategies have been proposed to maximize the percentage of CRT responders including two new physiological pacing modalities that have emerged in recent years: His bundle pacing (HBP) and left bundle branch area pacing (LBBAP). Both pacing techniques aim at restoring the normal electrical activation of the ventricles through the native conduction system in opposition to the cell-to-cell activation of conventional right ventricular myocardial pacing. Conduction system pacing (CSP), including both HBP and LBBAP, appears to be a promising pacing modality for delivering CRT and has proven to be safe and feasible in this particular setting. This article will review the current state of the art of CSP-based CRT, its limitations, and future directions.

Spanish Pacemaker Registry. 17th Official Report of the Section on Cardiac Pacing of the Spanish Society of Cardiology (2019)

INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVES

This report describes Spanish cardiac pacing activity during 2019: quantities and types of devices and demographic and clinical factors.

METHODS

The analysis is based on data obtained from the European Pacemaker Patient Identification Card, data submitted to the online platform cardiodispositivos.es, and supplier-reported data on the total number of implanted pacemakers.

RESULTS

Information was received on 15 833 procedures from 102 implantation centers, representing 39% of the estimated total activity. The implantation rates of conventional and resynchronization pacemakers were 832 and 32 units per million population, respectively. A total of 431 leadless pacemakers were implanted. Most implantations were performed in elderly patients (mean age, 78.7 years). Most electrodes were bipolar and with active fixation and 34.1% were magnetic resonance imaging-compatible. Atrioventricular block was the most common electrocardiographic abnormality. Dual-chamber sequential pacing predominated; nonetheless, up to 20% of patients in sinus rhythm received a single-chamber ventricular pacemaker, mainly those older than 80 years of age and women. Remote monitoring capability was present in 41% of cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers and in 14.8% of conventional pacemakers.

CONCLUSIONS

Consumption of pacing generators increased by 1.6%, mainly due to a 15.1% increase in cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers. Sequential pacing predominates; its use is influenced by age and sex. Remote monitoring increased by 20.6% in cardiac resynchronization therapy pacemakers and continues to be scarce in conventional pacemakers.

Advanced heart failure: non-pharmacological approach

Patients with advanced heart failure have poor prognosis despite traditional pharmacological therapies. The early identification of these subjects would allow them to be addressed on time in dedicated centers to select patients eligible for heart transplantation or ventricular assistance. In this article we will report the current management of these patients based on latest international guidelines, underlining some critical aspects, with reference to future perspectives.

Benefits of Multisite/Multipoint Pacing to Improve Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy Response

This article provides a general overview of the underlying mechanisms that support pacing from more discrete points and/or a wider vector (multisite and multipoint pacing) to improve left ventricular resynchronization. We performed a critical overview of the current literature and to identify some remaining knowledge gaps to spur further research. It was not our goal to provide a systematic review with a comprehensive bibliography, but rather to focus on selected publications that, in our opinion, have either expertly reviewed a specific aspect of cardiac resynchronization therapy or have been landmark studies in the field.