Targeted Lead Placement is No Better Than Standard Placement in Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy
- Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is used to help the heart’s chambers contract synchronously in patients with heart failure and conduction abnormalities.
- The DANISH-CRT trial compared targeted placement of the left ventricular pacing lead with standard placement.
- There was no difference in death or first heart failure hospitalization with targeted or standard lead placement.
- The data will be further analyzed to investigate which patients derived most benefit from CRT.
- Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is used to help the heart’s chambers contract synchronously in patients with heart failure and conduction abnormalities.
- The DANISH-CRT trial compared targeted placement of the left ventricular pacing lead with standard placement.
- There was no difference in death or first heart failure hospitalization with targeted or standard lead placement.
- The data will be further analyzed to investigate which patients derived most benefit from CRT.
ESC Press Release
Munich, Germany – 31 August 2026: Targeted placement of the left ventricular lead did not improve outcomes in patients with heart failure undergoing cardiac resynchronization therapy, according to results presented in a Hot Line session at ESC Congress 2026 and published simultaneously in The Lancet.1
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is a type of pacemaker treatment for some people with heart failure who have conduction abnormalities such as left bundle branch block (LBBB). It sends carefully timed electrical signals to the heart so that the heart’s lower chambers beat together more effectively.
“While CRT improves symptoms, quality of life and survival in majority of patients, up to one-third do not experience any benefit,2” explained Principal Investigator of the DANISH-CRT trial, Professor Jens Cosedis Nielsen from Aarhus University Hospital, Denmark. “Observational data have shown that measuring a late electrical signal from the left ventricular lead is associated with better outcomes.2 However, whether a strategy of targeting placement of the left ventricular lead at the latest activated site improves outcomes has never been investigated in a large randomized controlled trial,” he noted.
The DANISH-CRT trial was an investigator-initiated, double-blind trial conducted in all five Danish university centers performing CRT device implantations. The trial included 1,000 patients who had heart failure and LBBB on guideline-directed medication and were referred for biventricular pacing. Patients were randomized to left ventricular lead placement targeted to the site of latest electrical activation within the coronary sinus branches or to standard lead placement (in the posterolateral, non-apical coronary sinus).
After a median of 45.8 months of follow-up, the primary endpoint of death or first unplanned hospitalization for heart failure occurred in similar proportions of patients with targeted lead placement and standard lead placement (27.9% vs. 25.5%; hazard ratio 1.10; 95% confidence interval 0.86 to 1.39; p=0.45). Consistently similar findings were observed across secondary endpoints including structural changes to the left ventricle, quality of life, functional status and physical capacity, as well as in subgroup analyses of the primary endpoint. Numerically, more lead-related complications were observed in the targeted lead placement group.
“Our findings do not support routine electrical mapping to target left ventricular lead placement in contemporary CRT practice,” said Professor Cosedis Nielsen, concluding, “We will continue to analyze data from the DANISH-CRT trial to investigate which patient subgroups benefitted most from CRT.”
Funding: The study was funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation, the Danish Heart Foundation, the Danish Pacemaker and ICD Registry, and Independent Research Fund Denmark.
Disclosures: Professor Cosedis Nielsen reports no conflicts of interest related to this trial.
About ESC Congress 2026
ESC Congress 2026 took place from 28–31 August at Messe München GmbH, Munich, Germany. Explore the scientific program.
References
1 ‘DANISH-CRT: Targeted LV lead placement for biventricular pacing for heart failure’ presented during HOT LINE 10 at ESC Congress 2026 on 31 August from 08:15 to 09:30 in Munich (Main Auditorium – Hall B3).
2 Kronborg MB, Frausing MHJP, Svendsen JH, et al. Does targeted positioning of the left ventricular pacing lead towards the latest local electrical activation in cardiac resynchronization therapy reduce the incidence of death or hospitalization for heart failure? Am Heart J. 2023;263:112-122.
About the European Society of Cardiology
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