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To the Editor: The post hoc analysis of the EVEREST study by Dr Wang and colleagues¹ demonstrated the adverse outcomes associated with prolonged QRS duration in patients hospitalized with decompensated heart failure. We have several observations regarding their findings.

The authors reported a prolonged QRS duration in 45% of their patients. They defined baseline QRS duration using ECG at the time of admission and then assessed QRS duration variability during the course of hospitalization. No data were provided on the QRS duration before and after hospitalization. Based on their findings, the authors suggest that a prolonged QRS duration may be a potential target for intervention (ie, cardiac resynchronization therapy) during hospitalization for decompensated heart failure.

QRS duration is not a static ECG measurement. Aranda et al² found that QRS duration was a dynamic phenomenon in patients admitted with decompensated heart failure with prolonged QRS duration (>130 milliseconds); the duration significantly . . . [Full Text of this Article]

Abdul Hakeem, MD
ahakeem@gmail.com

Sabha Bhatti, MD
Division of Cardiovascular Medicine
University of Cincinnati Hospital
Cincinnati, Ohio

Zainab Samad, MD
Division of Cardiology
Duke University Medical Center
Durham, North Carolina

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