Cardiac resynchronization Therapy is effective in elderly people with cardiac disease

Cardiac procedures are more complicated than the actual procedure due to its effects on people. The benefits of CRT in this group are largely unknown because interventionists prefer implanting an ICD device due to concerns over complication rates with CRT in this age group.

Although the reason for this observed difference is not entirely clear but since an ICD reduces risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by an arrhythmic etiology, whereas CRT-D improves quality of life and reduces mortality from either SCD or HF and thus may have generated better outcomes.

"This approach (preferring ICD for elderly eligible for CRT) is not supported by the study findings: ICD implantation rather than CRT-D was associated with worse short- and long-term outcomes and there appeared to be little if any increased risk of procedure-related complications among those undergoing CRT-D compared with ICD across age groups", note Atwater et al in an accompanying editorial.

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Cardiac resynchronization therapy has better survival than ICD in eligible elderly patients: JACC study