CMR-ICD-DZHK23

Cardiac Magnetic Resonance guidance of Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator implantation in non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (CMR-ICD-DZHK23)

To protect against sudden cardiac death, all patients with severe cardiac insufficiency, in which the heart's pumping capacity is highly restricted, are currently implanted with a defibrillator. But the procedure is risky and often unnecessary. Every year, the device triggers a life-saving electric shock in only about five percent of patients. The CMR-ICD-DZHK23 trial is now examining whether doctors can use cardiac magnetic resonance imaging to determine better which heart failure patients will benefit from an implanted defibrillator before the procedure.

The DZHK study wants to determine whether a scarred heart in patients with a particular form of heart failure, non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy (NIDCM), could be an additional criterion that doctors can use to recognise who needs a defibrillator. This is because dangerous cardiac arrhythmias occur, particularly when the heart muscle is scarred. Such scarring, also called fibrosis, can now be detected with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). In the study, the doctors examine all patients with non-ischaemic dilated cardiomyopathy and a permanently severely reduced pumping capacity with the MRI. Patients with a scarred heart are then divided into two groups: One group receives a defibrillator, the other does not. The study participants will receive optimal care according to the current guidelines for heart failure therapy in parallel. 760 patients are to participate in the five-year study, which is planned at up to 60 centres in Germany. Positive results from the study would also change the guidelines for this form of heart failure.

Publications

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Principal Investigators

Principal investigator: Ingo Eitel (Lübeck)

Press releases and news

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