Relation of ejection fraction and inducible ventricular tachycardia to mode of death in patients with coronary artery disease: an analysis of patients enrolled in the multicenter unsustained tachycardia trial.
BACKGROUND
Fifty percent of deaths in patients with coronary disease occur suddenly. Although many factors correlate with increased mortality, there is little information regarding the influence of these factors on mode of death. As such, optimum methods to determine patients most likely to benefit from implantable defibrillator therapy are unclear.


RESULTS
We analyzed the relation of ejection fraction and inducible ventricular tachyarrhythmias to mode of death in all 1791 patients enrolled in the Multicenter Unsustained Tachycardia Trial who did not receive antiarrhythmic therapy. Total mortality and arrhythmic deaths/cardiac arrests occurred more frequently in patients with ejection fraction <30% than in those with ejection fraction of 30% to 40%. The percentage of deaths classified as arrhythmic was similar in patients with ejection fraction <30% or > or =30%. The relative contribution of arrhythmic events to total mortality was significantly higher in patients with inducible tachyarrhythmia (58% of deaths in inducible patients versus 46% in noninducible patients, P=0.004). The higher percentage of events that were arrhythmic among patients with inducible tachyarrhythmia appeared more distinct among patients with an ejection fraction > or =30% (61% of events were arrhythmic among inducible patients with ejection fraction > or =30% and only 42% among noninducible patients, P=0.002).


CONCLUSIONS
Both low ejection fraction and inducible tachyarrhythmias identify patients with coronary disease at increased mortality risk. Ejection fraction does not discriminate between modes of death, whereas inducible tachyarrhythmia identifies patients for whom death, if it occurs, is significantly more likely to be arrhythmic, especially if ejection fraction is > or =30%.
Buxton
Alfred E
AE
Brown Medical School, Providence, RI, USA. Alfred_Buxton@Brown.edu
Lee
Kerry L
KL
Hafley
Gail E
GE
Wyse
D George
DG
Fisher
John D
JD
Lehmann
Michael H
MH
Pires
Luis A
LA
Gold
Michael R
MR
Packer
Douglas L
DL
Josephson
Mark E
ME
Prystowsky
Eric N
EN
Talajic
Mario R
MR
D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D002908:Chronic Disease; D015897:Comorbidity; D003324:Coronary Artery Disease / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D022062:Electrophysiologic Techniques, Cardiac; D006801:Humans; D015337:Multicenter Studies as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016016:Proportional Hazards Models; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018570:Risk Assessment; D012307:Risk Factors; D013318:Stroke Volume; D015996:Survival Rate; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000401:mortality* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology