Prognostic importance of defibrillator shocks in patients with heart failure.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Patients with heart failure who receive an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for primary prevention (i.e., prevention of a first life-threatening arrhythmic event) may later receive therapeutic shocks from the ICD. Information about long-term prognosis after ICD therapy in such patients is limited.

Methods

Of 829 patients with heart failure who were randomly assigned to ICD therapy, we implanted the ICD in 811. ICD shocks that followed the onset of ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation were considered to be appropriate. All other ICD shocks were considered to be inappropriate.

Results

Over a median follow-up period of 45.5 months, 269 patients (33.2%) received at least one ICD shock, with 128 patients receiving only appropriate shoc

SUBMITTER: Poole JE 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC2922510 | biostudies-literature | 2008 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature