Effect of Left Bundle Branch Block on Systolic and Diastolic Function of Left Ventricle in Heart Failure

Morphologies and prognostic significance of left ventricular volume/time curves with cardiac magnetic resonance in patients with non-ischaemic heart failure and left bundle branch block

Patients with non-ischaemic systolic heart failure (HF) and left bundle branch block (LBBB) can display a wide or narrow pattern (WP/NP) of the systolic phase of the left ventricular (LV) volume/time (V/t) curve in cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR). The clinical and prognostic significance of these patterns is unknown. Consecutive patients with non-ischaemic HF, LV ejection fraction < 50% and LBBB underwent 1.5 T CMR. Maximal dyssynchrony time (time between the earliest and latest end-systolic peaks), systolic dyssynchrony index (standard deviation of times to peak volume change), and contractility index (maximum rate of change of pressure-normalized stress) were calculated. The endpoint was a composite of cardiovascular death, HF hospitalization, and appropriate defibrillator shock. NP was found in 29 and WP in 72 patients. WP patients had higher volumes and NT-proBNP, and lower LVEF. WP patients had a longer maximal dyssynchrony time (absolute duration: 192 ± 80 vs. 143 ± 65 ms, p < 0.001; % of RR interval: 25 ± 11% vs. 8 ± 4%, p < 0.001), a higher systolic dyssynchrony index (13 ± 4 vs. 7 ± 3%, p < 0.001), and a lower contractility index (2.6 ± 1.2 vs 3.2 ± 1.7, p < 0.05). WP patients had a shorter survival free from the composite endpoint regardless of age, NT-proBNP or LVEF. Nonetheless, WP patients responded more often to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) than those with NP (24/28 [86%] vs. 1/11 [9%] responders, respectively; p < 0.001). In patients with non-ischaemic systolic HF and LBBB, the WP of V/t curves identifies a subgroup of patients with greater LV dyssynchrony and worse outcome, but better response to CRT.

Prognosis and Natural History of Conduction System Disease in Patients Undergoing Coronary Angiography

BACKGROUND

Infranodal conduction abnormalities, including right or left bundle branch block bifascicular block, and nonspecific intraventricular conduction block are common electrocardiogram (ECG) abnormalities with uncertain persistence and prognostic significance. We evaluated their trajectory and prognostic significance in patients undergoing coronary angiography.

METHODS

We linked an institutional ECG repository with the provincial coronary angiography registry and administrative databases. We included patients without severe left ventricular dysfunction who had an ECG within 180 days of angiography. Multivariable Cox models were used to assess associations between conduction abnormalities and a composite outcome, including all-cause mortality, heart failure hospitalizations, placement of a permanent pacemaker, and placement of an implantable cardiac defibrillator or cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillator. Serial ECGs were used to model conduction disease as a time-dependent repeated measure.

RESULTS

We included 10,786 patients (mean age, 62.3 ± 12.4 years; 70.3% were male), of whom 2530 (23.4%) had baseline conduction abnormality. During a median follow-up of 3.5 years, conduction normalized in 885 patients (34.9%) and the composite outcome occurred in 1541 patients (14.3%). After multivariable adjustment, intraventricular conduction block (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.42; P = 0.001) and bifascicular block (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.59; P = 0.003) were associated with increased risk of the composite outcome. Left bundle branch block was not associated with the composite outcome.

CONCLUSIONS

Regression of conduction abnormalities was frequent among patients undergoing coronary angiography, primarily for suspected acute coronary syndrome. After adjustment for important confounders including extent of coronary artery disease, infranodal conduction abnormalities were associated with a modest increase in cardiovascular risk.

Systolic heart failure: should we care about electrical, mechanical or electromechanical dyssynchrony?

Evaluation of: Cho GY, Kim HK, Kim YJ et al.: Electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony for prediction of cardiac events in patients with systolic heart failure. Heart (2009) (Epub ahead of print). Prolonged QRS duration is electrocardiographic evidence of electrical dyssynchrony and is associated with a higher incidence of cardiac events and mortality. The study by Cho et al. (167 patients were followed up for 33.4 ± 19.9 months) shows that mechanical dyssynchrony has an additional value over QRS duration in predicting cardiac events in patients with systolic heart failure. The dyssynchrony was assessed through tissue Doppler imaging – a temporal difference between the septal to lateral wall (Ts-1) of 65 ms or more defined the mechanical dyssynchrony. In multivariate Cox proportional hazard analysis, both QRS duration (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.85; p = 0.032) and Ts-1 (HR: 2.35; p = 0.002) were independent predictors of cardiac events. Those with both electrical and mechanical dyssynchrony had a HR of 3.98 (95% CI: 2.02–7.86; p < 0.001) when compared with those with a normal QRS duration and absence of mechanical dyssynchrony. Combining the information provided by QRS duration with mechanical dyssynchrony through Ts-1 is clinically relevant to stratifying the risk of hospitalization or death in systolic heart failure patients. However, these data do not support the use of mechanical dyssynchrony to select patients for cardiac resynchronization therapy, nor to predict response to this therapy. This was not assessed by the study.

Diastolic asynchrony is more frequent than systolic asynchrony in dilated cardiomyopathy and is less improved by cardiac resynchronization therapy

OBJECTIVES

To compare the incidence of diastolic and systolic asynchrony, assessed by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI), in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) and severe left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, and to assess TDI changes induced by cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT).

BACKGROUND

Thirty percent of CRT candidates are nonresponders. Besides QRS width, the presence of echographic systolic asynchrony has been used to identify future responders. Little is known about diastolic asynchrony and its change after CRT.

METHODS

Tissue Doppler imaging was performed in 116 CHF patients (LV ejection fraction 26 +/- 8%). Systolic and diastolic asynchrony was calculated using TDI recordings of right ventricular and LV walls.

RESULTS

The CHF group consisted of 116 patients. Diastolic asynchrony was more frequent than systolic, concerning both intraventricular (58% vs. 47%; p = 0.0004) and interventricular (72 vs. 45%; p < 0.0001) asynchrony. Systolic and diastolic asynchrony were both present in 41% patients, but one-third had isolated diastolic asynchrony. Although diastolic delays increased with QRS duration, 42% patients with narrow QRS presented with diastolic asynchrony. Conversely, 27% patients with large QRS had no diastolic asynchrony. Forty-two patients underwent CRT. Incidence of systolic intraventricular asynchrony decreased from 71% to 33% after CRT (p < 0.0001), but diastolic asynchrony decreased only from 81% to 55% (p < 0.0002). Cardiac resynchronization therapy induced new diastolic asynchrony in eight patients.

CONCLUSIONS

Diastolic asynchrony is weakly correlated with QRS duration, is more frequent than systolic asynchrony, and may be observed alone. Diastolic asynchrony is less improved by CRT than systolic. Persistent diastolic asynchrony may explain some cases of lack of improvement after CRT despite good systolic resynchronization.

Measurement of Cardiac Time Intervals by Doppler Tissue M-Mode Imaging of the Anterior Mitral Leaflet

OBJECTIVE

We sought to evaluate a new method of measuring cardiac time intervals from Doppler tissue imaging (DTI) of the anterior leaflet of the mitral valve.

BACKGROUND

For a reliable analysis of the regional cardiac performance by DTI, a reference of time intervals of global cardiac events in the same cardiac cycle and based on the same imaging modality is required to reduce measurement error.

METHODS

We conducted a comparison of the measurements of isovolumic contraction and relaxation time and left ventricular (LV) ejection time by DTI M-mode analysis of the anterior mitral leaflet and the traditional approach based on spectral Doppler recordings. The measurements were done in 20 control subjects and 40 patients with cardiac diseases known to affect cardiac time intervals: heart failure, aortic stenosis, and essential hypertension with LV hypertrophy.

RESULTS

Mean difference in milliseconds (95% limits of agreement) of measurements were not different overall (-0.20 [-10.58; 10.18], -1.95 [-16.66; 12.76], 1.48 [-8.34; 11.34], and 0 [-0.06; 0.07] for isovolumic contraction time, LV ejection time, isovolumic relaxation time, and calculated index of myocardial performance, respectively). Intraobserver variability was low. Analysis of patients with different categories of cardiac diseases confirmed the expected values for time intervals and index of myocardial performance.

CONCLUSIONS

Measurement of isovolumic periods and LV ejection time was feasible and reliable by DTI M-mode analysis of the anterior mitral valve leaflet. The DTI method can, therefore, be used for obtaining information of global events in the cardiac cycle from the same heart beat as used for analysis of regional cardiac performance.