Electrocardiographic and imaging methods in risk stratification of sudden cardiac death in patients with chronic heart failure

Abstract

Ventricular arrhythmias (in particular, episodes of ventricular fibrillation and paroxysmal ventricular tachycardia) are associated with a significant increase in the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The most widely used strategy for stratification of SCD risk in patients with CHF uses low left ventricular ejection fraction as the main criterion, but modern epidemiological studies confirm the need to search for new SCD markers, in particular, electrocardiographic and imaging ones. The most reasonable and promising is an integrated approach that implies a combination of sequential use of non-invasive and invasive techniques, which makes it possible to improve the identification of high-risk individuals who need an invasive strategy to prevent SCD, but who do not always meet the “classical” criteria for ICD implantation.