Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Pediatrics

Allison C Hill; Michael J Silka; Yaniv Bar-Cohen

doi:10.19102/icrm.2018.090804

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Pediatrics

J Innov Card Rhythm Manag. 2018 Aug 15;9(8):3256-3264. doi: 10.19102/icrm.2018.090804. eCollection 2018 Aug.

Authors

Allison C Hill^{1

2}, Michael J Silka^{1

2}, Yaniv Bar-Cohen^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ Division of Cardiology, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA, USA.
² Keck School of Medicine, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.

Abstract

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has proven to be a powerful and effective tool in the treatment of adults with severe dilated or ischemic cardiomyopathy. A substantial portion of the adult heart failure population has severely depressed systolic function, heart failure symptoms, QRS prolongation, and left bundle branch block. Indications for CRT in adults are commonly focused on these characteristics. However, pediatric patients represent a heterogeneous group with many etiologies of heart failure and anatomic variants, with most of them not fitting the typical adult CRT criteria. The heterogeneity of the pediatric population has hindered the identification of ideal candidates for CRT, but initial experience with CRT in various groups of pediatric patients has been encouraging. This article reviews indications for and outcomes of CRT in pediatric and congenital heart disease patients.

Keywords: Cardiac resynchronization therapy; heart failure; pediatrics.

Publication types

Review