Biventricular Pacing - Addition of a pacing lead placed in one of the cardiac veins at the lateral left ventricular wall is shown to significantly help patients with systolic left ventricular dysfunction and wide QRS.

Eligible patients usually have left ventricular EF less than 35%, NYHA class III-IV CHF, and QRS wider than 140 ms. Expected benefits include decrease in CHF symptoms by one or two classes, noticeable improvement in quality of life, decreased hospitalization rate, and less frequent office visits.

Significant proportion of patients receiving ICD’s will also benefit from addition of the left ventricular lead to the standard system.