ICDs Shown to Reduce Sudden Cardiac Death

A new study has found that patients with heart failure not due to coronary artery disease who received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) had a significant reduction in their rate of sudden cardiac death, compared to patients who had only drug therapy. The results were published in the May 20, 2004, issue of The New England Journal of Medicine.

The 458 participants, aged 21-80, in the DEFINITE (defibrillators in nonischemic cardiomyopathy treatment evaluation) study were randomized into two groups: one receiving standard heart failure drug therapy, and the other receiving drug therapy and an ICD. The ICD recipients had a statistically significant reduced risk of sudden cardiac death and a strong trend toward reduction of overall mortality rates. In addition, the patients with the worst heart failure symptoms showed a statistically significant reduction in overall mortality. The study is the first to focus on the potential benefits of ICDs in people whose weakened heart muscle is caused by factors unrelated to coronary artery disease. The ICD used in the study was from St. Jude Medical (St. Paul, MN, USA).

"The DEFINITE study demonstrated that ICDs are highly effective in preventing sudden death from cardiac causes in nonischemic heart failure patients,” said principal investigator Alan Kadish, M.D., professor of medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine at Northwestern University (Chicago, IL, USA).




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