One-year outcome after CRT implantation in NYHA class IV in comparison to NYHA class III patients

Background The aim of the analysis was to compare the outcome of heart failure patients in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class IV to that of NYHA class III patients 1 year after implantation of a CRT device. Methods The analysis was based on the 405 CRT patients enrolled in the MASCOT trial. At enrollment, 350 patients (86 %) were in NYHA class III and 55 (14 %) were in NYHA class IV. Results At 1-year follow-up, the improvement of the ejection fraction was not statistically significantly different between NYHA class III (+7.6 ± 11.7 %) and NYHA class IV patients (+9.2 ± 14.2 %; p = 0.78). NYHA class IV patients had a better mean NYHA class reduction with −1.93 ± 0.83 than NYHA class III patients with −0.93 ± 0.70 ( p