Objectives This study was designed to investigate whether selected baseline variables and early response markers predict the effects of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) on long-term mortality.Background Cardiac resynchronization therapy reduces long-term morbidity and mortality in patients with moderate or severe heart failure and markers of cardiac dyssynchrony, but not all patients respond to a similar extent.Methods In the CARE-HF (Cardiac Resynchronization in Heart Failure) study, 813 patients with heart failure and markers of cardiac dyssynchrony were randomly assigned to receive or not receive CRT in addition to pharmacological treatment and were followed for a median of 37.6 months. A model including assigned treatment, 15 pre-specified baseline variables, and 8 markers of response at 3 months was constructed to predict all-cause mortality.Results On multivariable analysis, plasma concentration of amino terminal pro-brain natriuretic peptide (univariate and multivariable model chi-square test: 105.0 and 48.4; both p