Left ventricular wall thickness assessed by cardiac computed tomography and cardiac resynchronization therapy outcomes

AIMS : Up to 30% of selected heart failure patients do not benefit clinically from cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Left ventricular (LV) wall thickness (WT) analysed using computed tomography (CT) has rarely been evaluated in response to CRT and mitral regurgitation (MR) improvement. We examined the association of LVWT and the ability to reverse LV remodelling and MR improvement after CRT. METHODS AND RESULTS : Fifty-four patients scheduled for CRT underwent pre-procedural CT. Reduced LVWT was defined as WT /=50%. At 6 months, 75%, 71%, and 42% of the patients experienced NYHA improvement in the /=50% group, respectively. Additionally, /=50% groups exhibited a lower LVEF, LVEDV, and LVESV positive response rate (52% and 42%; 47% and 45%; and 53% and 45%, respectively). Additionally, >/=25% of LVWT /=50% group experienced significantly lower 2-year MACE survival free probability. CONCLUSION : WT evaluated using CT could help to stratify the response to CRT and predict MR improvement and outcomes. CLINICAL TRIAL REGISTRATION: NCT01097733.