Extending multipoint pacing CRT battery longevity by swapping left ventricular pulse configurations.

PURPOSE

Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) with left ventricular (LV) MultiPoint™ pacing (MPP) has been shown to improve CRT response by pacing two LV sites (LV1, LV2). While an additional LV pacing site reduces battery longevity, this cost can be minimized by leveraging an existing device-based capture management algorithm (LVCap™ Confirm). The purpose of this study was to evaluate the MPP battery longevity improvement achieved by configuring LV pacing sites to properly leverage LVCap Confirm.

METHODS

Patients previously enrolled in the MORE-CRT MPP trial with existing MPP-enabled CRT-D devices (Abbott Quadra Assura MP™ CD3371-40QC, Quartet™ LV lead) underwent device interrogation. Device electrical characteristics and estimated battery longevities were compared for various MPP settings.

RESULTS

At 2.1 ± 1.1 years post-implant, the estimated remaining battery longevity in 65 patients was 70 ± 14 months with MPP Off (LV pacing from minimum capture threshold). Enabling MPP with maximal anatomical separation between LV1 and LV2 cathodes reduced longevity by 15 ± 14%. However, swapping the LV1 and LV2 cathodes, such that the LV1 threshold was the higher of the two, allowed the device to take full advantage of the LVCap™ Confirm capture management algorithm, resulting in significantly lower longevity reduction of 9 ± 11% (p < 0.001). Ultimately, a mean MPP battery longevity improvement of 7.7 ± 10.3% (p < 0.001) was achieved by simply swapping LV1/LV2 configurations.

CONCLUSIONS

By properly leveraging device-based capture management features, the impact of MPP on battery longevity can be significantly reduced.