Noninvasive risk stratification after myocardial infarction: rationale, current evidence and the need for definitive trials.

ABSTRACT: Despite advances in therapies for myocardial infarction (MI), death attributed to a cardiac arrest from ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) remains an important problem. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is effective in preventing death from VT/VF, but reliably identifying which post-MI patients would benefit from an ICD remains a major challenge. Beyond the initial post-MI period, the presence of significant left ventricular (LV) dysfunction, alone or in combination with the induction of sustained VT/VF during invasive testing, is the only proven means of selecting patients for a prophylactic ICD. However, these approaches identify only a fraction of those at risk. Furthermore, most patients with significant LV dysfunction after MI have a low, near

SUBMITTER: Exner D 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2787009 | biostudies-literature | 2009 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature