Objective:To evaluate the effect of cardiac resynchronization therapy

with or without implantable defibrillator

on mortality in patients with heart failure.Methods:The published literatures related to clinical randomized controlled trials on cardiac resynchronization therapy were searched

mainly with mortality as result indicators

and software RevMan5.1 in Cochrane Cooperation Net was used to process meta-analysis.Results:12 studies(n=7 539) were included in this meta-analysis.Compared with simple drug therapy

cardiac resynchronization therapy plus medical therapy significantly reduced mortality(relative risk 0.73

95% confidence interval 95%CI 0.62-0.85).Compared with an implantable defibrillator

cardiac resynchronization therapy plus an implantable defibrillator significantly reduced mortality(RR 0.83

95%CI 0.72-0.96).This finding remained significant in patients with New York Heart Association(NYHA) class Ⅰ or Ⅱ(RR 0.81

95%CI 0.67-0.97)

but not in those with class Ⅲ or Ⅳ(RR 0.86

95%CI 0.69-1.07).Conclusion:Compared with optimal drug therapy

the cardiac resynchronization therapy

with or without implantable defibrillator

significantly reduces mortality in patients with heart failure.