When to choose cardiac resynchronization therapy in chronic heart failure: type and duration of the conduction delay

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is an established treatment for patients with heart failure (HF), impaired left ventricular (LV) function, and wide QRS complex. The initial randomized clinical trials, which led to the widespread use of CRT, selected patients on the basis of QRS duration, not focusing on QRS morphology. However, recent evidences emphasized the role of left bundle branch block morphology in patients that underwent CRT in order to predict better response to therapy. Moreover, conventional right ventricular apical pacing might have long-term detrimental effects on cardiac structure and LV function, possibly leading to the development of HF. Therefore, current guidelines recommend upgrade from conventional pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator to CRT or de novo CRT in patients with high (or expected high) percentage of ventricular pacing and reduced EF. We reviewed current knowledge on candidates’ selection for CRT based on conduction delays that lead to electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony of the left ventricle.