Impact of denervated myocardium on improving risk stratification for sudden cardiac death.

ABSTRACT: Between 184,000 and 462,000 Americans die suddenly each year. Fifty percent to 70% of these deaths are due to ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation (VT/VF). We tested whether hibernating myocardium or myocardial sympathetic denervation identifies patients at high-risk for developing VT/VF independently of ejection fraction (EF). Positron emission tomography (PET) was used to quantify myocardial sympathetic denervation ((11)C-meta-hydroxyephedrine [(11)C-HED]), perfusion ((13)N-ammonia), and viability (insulin-stimulated (18)F-2-deoxyglucose [(18)FDG]) in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy (EF < 35%) eligible for a primary prevention implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The primary end-point was sudden cardiac arrest (SCA) defined as arrhythmic death or ICD discharge for VT/VF >

SUBMITTER: Cain ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4112709 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature