Study faults Medicare criteria for ICD coverage: QRS cutoff deemed arbitrary.(Clinical Rounds)

SAN FRANCISCO -- New data from the landmark Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial call into question last year's controversial decision by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to restrict coverage for implantable cardioverter defibrillators based upon QRS duration.

The new secondary analysis of electrophysiologic data from the Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) shows that QRS duration is not an adequate predictor of mortality risk upon which to base a decision as to who is likely to benefit from implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy, Dr. Jeanne E. Poole said at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society.

…