A number of clinical trials have been reported to show thatthe implantable cardioverter–defibrillator (ICD) preventssudden death from cardiac causes and significantly reduces overallmortality among patients with left ventricular dysfunction inthe setting of ischemic heart disease.1,2,3,4 Some of thesestudies included patients with other risk factors for suddendeath from cardiac causes, such as nonsustained ventriculartachycardia on Holter monitoring and the induction of a sustainedventricular tachyarrhythmia during electrophysiological testing.1,3As a consequence of these studies, the use of ICDs for the primaryprevention of sudden death from cardiac causes has increasedworldwide. However, ICDs are . . . [Full Text of this Article]
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From the Libin Cardiovascular Institute of Alberta, Department of Cardiovascular Sciences, University of Calgary, and Calgary Health Region, Calgary, Alta., Canada.
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