Primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in heart failure: will the solution be shocking?

Division of Cardiology, University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston, 77555-0553, USA. buretsky@utmb.edu

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) may occur in as many as 40% of all patients who suffer from heart failure. This review describes the scope of the problem, risk factors for SCD, the effect of medications used in heart failure on SCD and the potential effect of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in primary prevention.

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