Diagnostic and Interventional Cardiology (DAIC) recently featured an article titled “Use of the Interventional CRT Approach to Solve Issues With LV Lead Placement.” Written by Matthew S. McKillop, MD, and Seth J. Worley, MD, the article discusses how adopting the interventional cardiac resynchronization therapy (I-CRT) method may offer electrophysiologists a greater ability to adapt to difficult patient anatomy, providing a better way to place a left ventricular (LV) lead in comparison to conventional placement techniques.
Originally developed by interventional cardiologists and radiologists, the I-CRT approach is based on a set of tools and techniques now repurposed and used for coronary sinus cannulation and LV lead implantation. An entirely different path to LV lead placement, I-CRT helps electrophysiologists take on exceptionally challenging cases by controlling the anatomy and allowing for multiple adjustments during a procedure.
In the article, Drs. McKillop and Worley address seven complex situations that may be encountered during LV lead placement and follow up with how Interventional CRT provides solutions. The authors write that in some of these examples, “I-CRT offers a solution where the only other viable option is to abandon the case.” Read the full DAIC article.
For more information about I-CRT and overcoming obstacles to adoption, explore Dr. Worley’s 2018 EP Lab Digest article titled “I-CRT: Challenging the Conventional Approach to LV Lead Placement, Literally and Figuratively.”