一項最新研究顯示：在使用專門心臟起搏器治療使得心臟電復律的充血性心臟功能衰竭患者之中，大約三分之一患者治療無效。

當前植入起搏器的標準沒有精確鑒別出那些患者會從植入心臟起搏器中獲益，那些不會獲益。這些研究針對從標準心電圖收集的信息來檢查治療有反應或者無反應相關的因素。先前有過心臟病發作患者，與先前沒有心臟病發作的患者，對心臟起搏器治療無效的病例數基本相同。

使用專門起搏器使得心臟電復律是一種價格昂貴而且有創傷性的治療方法。根據研究結果，至少33％的充血性心衰患者使用這種方法治療無效。新的研究結果顯示為了更好的選擇心臟電復律治療的患者，需要更多的研究工作。

這項研究結果報道在2005年1月18日的《心臟起搏和臨床電生理 》期刊上，作者是美國波士頓Beth Israel Deaconess醫學中心心臟科的科學碩士Matthew R.Reynolds醫生。
 
Pacemakers Don’t Help Some Heart Patients
 
A new study shows that about one-third of patients with congestive heart failure who are treated with specialized pacemakers to electrically resynchronize their hearts fail to respond.

The current criteria for the implantation of a pacemaker do not accurately identify those patients who will or will not benefit from the implantation. The study looked at information derived from a standard electrocardiogram (EKG) to examine those factors associated with response or nonresponse. On average, those patients who had experienced a previous heart attack did not respond as well to pacemaker therapy as patients who had not had a previous heart attack.

Electrically resynchronizing the heart with a specialized pacemaker is a costly and invasive treatment. According to the study results, at least 33% of patients with congestive heart failure who were treated with this therapy failed to respond. The new findings suggest that more research is needed in order to find out how best to select patients for cardiac resynchronization therapy.

The study, reported in the January 18, 2005, issue of Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology (PACE), was authored by Matthew R. Reynolds, M.D., M.Sc., of the division of cardiology, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston (USA).