Beta-Blocker Therapy Induces Ventricular Resynchronization in Dilated Cardiomyopathy With Narrow QRS Complex

Beta-Blocker Therapy Induces Ventricular Resynchronization in Dilated Cardiomyopathy With Narrow QRS Complex Yasuhiko Takemoto, Takeshi Hozumi, Kenichi Sugioka, Yasuhiro Takagi, Yoshiki Matsumura, Minoru Yoshiyama, Theodore P. Abraham, Junichi Yoshikawa Conventional and strain echocardiography were performed in 15 healthy age-matched volunteers and in 25 patients with idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy, 15 of whom were studied before, and at 1 month and 6 months after initiation of carvedilol therapy. Carvedilol therapy was associated with an early (1 month) increase in regional systolic function and a delayed (6 months) decrease in mechanical dyssynchrony. Improvements in left ventricular ejection fraction and reverse remodeling were coincident with reductions in mechanical dyssynchrony. Reduction in ventricular dyssynchrony may be one of the mechanisms underlying the beneficial effects of carvedilol in heart failure.