QOL and Mortality Among Heart Failure Patients with Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators

ICD shocks were associated with higher mortality at 4 years.

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) lower cardiovascular mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and left ventricular dysfunction (LVD). Two new analyses shed light on the effect of ICDs on quality of life (QOL) and on the prognostic significance of ICD shocks in such patients.

In the first study, investigators serially recorded multiple QOL measures in 2521 patients with stable HF and LVD (ejection fraction, ≤35%) who were enrolled in a randomized trial of ICDs, amiodarone, or placebo; all received optimal medical therapy. No significant differences in physical functioning were seen among the groups. Psychological well-being and several other QOL measures were significantly better in the ICD group than in the placebo group …

Reviewing Author

Kirsten E. Fleischmann, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology/American Heart Association

Kirsten E. Fleischmann, MD, MPH

Disclosures

Grant/Research SupportNational Institutes of Health

Leadership Positions in Professional SocietiesAmerican College of Cardiology/American Heart Association