Ejection Fraction Improvement Does Not Reflect Changes in Quality of Life Following Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy

OBJECTIVE: To determine if health-related quality of life (HRQoL) improvement after cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) correlates with improved left-ventricular ejection fraction (EF). BACKGROUND: CRT was reported to improve EF and HRQoL in clinical trials of heart failure with reduced EF (HFrEF). It is unknown if improvements in HRQoL reflect EF response to CRT. METHODS: We included HFrEF patients who underwent CRT and had both pre- and post-CRT HRQoL assessment. EF response was categorized as absent (0% change or decrease), modest (0%-19% increase), or significant ( > 20% increase). We examined the associations between EF response and generic (PROMIS) and HF-specific (KCCQ-12) HRQoL. RESULTS: The group included 115 patients with mean age of 65 years and baseline EF of 31%; 39% were female (n = 45). Nineteen percent (n = 22) had significant, 57% (n = 66) modest, and 23% (n = 27) absent EF responses. AF burden across significant (8.9%), modest (4.8%), and absent EF responders (1.4%) was similar ( P = 0.20). Significant improvements in KCCQ-12 (43.4-57.5, P = 0.003), current health visual analog scale (49.1-55.9, P = 0.042), PROMIS fatigue (58.9-55.1, P = 0.026), and PROMIS satisfaction (42.7-46.4, P = 0.020) resulted following CRT across all groups. There was no association between significant EF improvement and HRQoL by KCCQ-12 (nonresponse, 44.4%; modest response, 33.3%; and significant response, 22.2%) at 1 year ( P = 0.52 across all groups). CONCLUSION: CRT was associated with a modest to significant EF response in a majority of patients. However, EF response did not significantly correlate with generic or HF-specific HRQoL measures. Further investigations are warranted into determinants of improved HRQoL following CRT.