Introduction: Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT-P and CRT-D) is an established therapy in heart failure. However, data on the device longevity and the relation to patients survival are scarce.
Methods: We retrospectively analyzed 627 patients who underwent CRT implantation between 1999 and 2012 (76.7% male; mean age 66.2+11.9 years; Group 1: 304 CRT-P; Group 2: 323 CRT-D). The mean follow up was 3,5+2,7 years.
Results: Death occured in 236 (37,4%) patients during follow up. There was no significant difference between the patients survival between both groups. Replacement of the device occured in 55 (18,1%) patients in group 1 and 80 (24,8%) patients in Group 2.Device longevity was significantly longer in CRT-P than in CRT-D Sytems (3.7+1.7 vs. 4.8+2,5 years; p<0.001) and was significantly different among manufacturers.
Conclusions: Device longevity was significantly shorter in CRT- D than in CRT-P. However, there was no siginificant difference in the survival of the patients between the groups.