Usefulness of Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients With Adriamycin-Induced Cardiomyopathy

Adriamycin is a chemotherapeutic agent that can cause severe cardiotoxicity, which potentially carries a poorer long-term prognosis than other forms of cardiomyopathy. Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been shown to improve quality of life, exercise capacity, left ventricular ejection fraction, and survival in selected patients with heart failure. It is unclear if patients with Adriamycin-induced cardiomyopathy (AIC) respond to CRT. We reviewed clinical and echocardiographic data on 18 consecutive patients with AIC who underwent implantation of a CRT device at the Cleveland Clinic from February 2000 to April 2007. Changes in clinical and echocardiographic parameters were compared to 189 consecutive patients with other forms of nonischemic cardiomyopathy (NIC) using similar end points. Patients with AIC demonstrated significant improvements in ejection fraction, left ventricular end-diastolic and end-systolic diameters, mitral regurgitation, and New York Heart Association functional class with CRT. These changes were similar to patients in the NIC cohort. In conclusion, patients with AIC may derive a significant echocardiographic and symptomatic benefit from CRT, which is similar to that seen in other forms of NIC.