REVIEW

Optimal use of echocardiography in cardiac resynchronisation therapy

Gabe B Bleeker¹, Cheuk-Man Yu², Petros Nihoyannopoulos³, Johan de Sutter⁴, Nico Van de Veire⁴, Eduard R Holman¹, Martin J Schalij¹, Ernst E van der Wall¹, Jeroen J Bax¹

¹ Department of Cardiology, Leiden University Medical Centre, Leiden, The Netherlands
² Division of Cardiology, Prince of Wales Hospital, Shatin, NT, Hong Kong
³ Imperial College London, Hammersmith Hospital, London, UK
⁴ Department of Cardiology, University Hospital, Ghent, Belgium

Correspondence to:
Dr Gabe B Bleeker, Leiden University Medical Centre, Albinusdreef 2, Leiden, 2333 ZA The Netherlands; g.b.bleeker{at}lumc.nl

Echocardiography has several roles in patients with cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT). First, it can optimise selection of CRT candidates by demonstration of left ventricular (LV) dyssynchrony. Second, it can be used to assess immediate response to CRT, including detection of acute LV resynchronisation. Echocardiography is also useful to evaluate long-term benefit from CRT. Finally, echocardiography is important in optimisation of pacemaker settings, including AV and VV optimisation.

Abbreviations: CRT, cardiac resynchronisation therapy; LV, left ventricular; NYHA, New York Heart Association; RT3DE, real-time three-dimensional echocardiography; SPWMD, septal to posterior wall motion delay; SRI, strain (rate) imaging; TDI, tissue Doppler imaging; TSI, tissue synchronisation imaging; VTI, velocity time integral

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