What is cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT)?
Cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) is one treatment option for some heart failure patients. CRT uses electrical impulses to help your heart pump more effectively. In a healthy heart, the chambers contract and relax in a coordinated way, or in synchrony. Heart failure can cause problems with the timing or coordination of your heart’s contractions especially in the ventricles (lower chambers). In other words, it can cause dyssynchrony. When your heart’s contractions are not coordinated, your heart may not deliver enough blood to your body. Without enough blood, important organs like your brain and kidneys cannot function properly. (Learn more about the heart chambers.) A CRT device can help restore normal coordination, or synchrony. The device uses leads (insulated wires threaded into the heart) to deliver small electrical impulses to the ventricles. The impulses help your ventricles contract at the same time, or “resynchronize.” When your ventricles pump together, your heart can wo
