Central sleep apnea was common in patients with pacing-induced cardiomyopathy and may improve with cardiac resynchronization therapy compared with right ventricular pacing, researchers found in the UPGRADE trial.
“The main findings are new, as pacing-induced cardiomyopathy is so far poorly studied,” Wolfgang Dichtl, MD, PhD, assistant medical director of University Clinic of Internal Medicine III at Medical University Innsbruck in Austria, told Healio. “In fact, this is the first published work showing the positive effects of upgrading to CRT concerning structural improvement (increase in left ventricular ejection fraction and decrease in left ventricular systolic volumes) and decrease in biomarkers (N-terminal-pro-B-type natriuretic peptide plasma levels) in a randomized trial.”
In the randomized controlled, prospective trial published in The American Journal of Cardiology, Fabian Barbieri, MD, clinical cardiologist at Medical University Innsbruck in Austria, and researchers analyzed data from 54 patients (median age, 75 years; 80% men) with pacing-induced cardiomyopathy who underwent LV lead implantation within the past month.
