Page 134 - Simplicity is Key in CRT

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Figure 2
Referral review. Considerations to be checked at referral review, to ascertain completeness of indication and possible complicating factors for the procedure, follow-up and probability of beneficial response to CRT. NYHA = New York Heart Association. CMP = cardiomyopathy. OMT = optimal medical treatment. QRS ms = QRS-duration in milliseconds. QRS morph = QRS-morphology. VPBs = ventricular premature beats. SVT = supraventricular tachycardias. NSVT = non-sustained ventricular tachycardias. EF = Ejection fraction. RV = right ventricle. CMR = cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. COPD = chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. OSAS = obstructive sleep apnoea syndrome. GFR = glomerular filtration rate.
Thorough information can be gathered during the pre-assessment outpatient clinic visit. We recommend assessing all referred patients as one of the major problems in CRT is identifying suitable patients, leading to a general underutilization of CRT [10-12]. Therefore, referring physicians should be encouraged to send their patients to the CRT clinic for pre-assessment. Ideally, the patient should have already been informed by the referring physician about CRT and should have given preliminary consent.
As the rationale behind the indications for CRT is extensively stated elsewhere [13, we will not go into this in depth. Rather, we will try to outline a standardized way of acquiring the minimum required information from referrals needed to be reviewed during assessment.