Loading...
In the MADIT-II trial, implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) improved survival by 31% in patients with LV ejection fractions ≤30% and histories of MI (Journal Watch Cardiology May 3 2002). To determine the cost-effectiveness of ICD therapy for primary prevention of sudden death in such patients, researchers applied the ICD survival-benefit calculation in MADIT-II to 1285 patients eligible for MADIT-II (but not enrolled) who underwent cardiac catheterization at Duke University Medical Center from 1986 through 2001; these patients were treated with medical therapy, not ICDs. The study was supported in part by a maker of ICDs.
In an analysis adjusted for differences between the Duke population and MADIT-II subjects, the researchers est…