Abstract
A specific analysis of patients from the STICH trial (Surgical Treatment of Ischaemic Heart Failure) revealed that the risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in coronary artery bypass graft surgery patients with severely impaired left ventricular (LV) function is highest between the first and third month postoperatively [1]. According to current guidelines, the indication for permanent implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy should be evaluated 90 days post-revascularization and bridging this time period with a wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) may be reasonable [2]. The reported study results of Kuehn et al. [3] in this issue of the journal support the importance of early postoperative WCD bridging in cardiac surgical patients with severely impaired LV function to reduce or eliminate the risk of SCD. In total, 9.1% of 1168 patients had at least one episode of ventricular arrhythmia while wearing the WCD and 1.5% received an adequate and effective shock. No ineffective therapy occurred and the inadequate shock rate was low at 0.7%.
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Schedule a callMore From: European journal of cardio-thoracic surgery : official journal of the European Association for Cardio-thoracic Surgery
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