title: [Arrhythmia and sudden death in congestive heart insufficiency].
abstract: The author emphasizes the current reawakening of interest of clinicians and investigators in congestive heart failure (CHF) as a consequence of the known bad prognosis of this syndrome and the new diagnostic techniques and drugs they may use in patients with this syndrome. The central topic of the paper deals with the relation between arrhythmias and sudden death (SD) in patients with CHF and is subdivided in five points: 1. Prevalence of SD in patients suffering from CHF; 2. Prevalence of ventricular arrhythmias in patients with CHF; 3. Prognostic value of ventricular arrhythmias on survival in patients with CHF; 4. Effect of antidysrhythmic drugs on survival in patients suffering from CHF; and 5. Different repercussion of drug therapy on rhythmic profile of patients with CHF. The analysis of these five points is supported by a revision of the literature on this subject and leads to some final comments, in which the author tries to do the state-of-the-art of the problem of the relation between arrhythmias and SD in patients suffering from CHF.
authors.forename: J L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Tuna
mesh_terms: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003645:Death, Sudden / Q000209:etiology*; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000401:mortality / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000209:etiology*
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
vernacular_title: "Arritmias e morte súbita na insuficiência cardíaca congestiva".