title: Residual high incidence of ventricular arrhythmias after left ventricular reconstructive surgery.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Left ventricular reconstruction is performed in patients with ischemic cardiomyopathy and akinetic or dyskinetic left ventricular regions. These patients may remain at risk for malignant ventricular arrhythmias and hence may benefit from prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. Specific guidelines for electrophysiologic testing and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in patients undergoing left ventricular reconstruction are lacking. We aimed to assess the residual risk and timing of ventricular arrhythmias after left ventricular reconstruction to determine whether electrophysiologic risk stratification or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation can be safely deferred.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were prospectively gathered on 217 consecutive patients with left ventricular ejection fractions less than 40% undergoing left ventricular reconstruction at our institution from 1997 to 2002. Patients were divided into 3 groups: group 1, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator present before surgery; group 2, implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implanted early after surgery; and group 3, no implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implanted. End points were all-cause mortality (censored for cardiac transplantation) and appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapies.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Of 217 patients (mean age, 61 +/- 10 years [mean +/- SD]), survival after a median follow-up of 381 days was 90%. Electrophysiologic studies successfully identified patients at low risk. Appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapies occurred in 20% of group 1 and 12% of group 2. The median time to the first implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy from the time of left ventricular reconstruction was 43 days, and most first therapies (67%) occurred within the first 63 days.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The early event rates (occurring in the first 90 days after left ventricular reconstruction) support the use of predischarge electrophysiologic studies, implantation of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators before discharge from the hospital, or both.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, Section of Heart Failure and Cardiac Transplant Medicine, The Cleveland Clinic Foundation, Cleveland, Ohio 44195, USA.
authors.forename: James O
authors.initials: JO
authors.lastname: O'Neill
authors.forename: Randall C
authors.initials: RC
authors.lastname: Starling
authors.forename: Yaariv
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Khaykin
authors.forename: Patrick M
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: McCarthy
authors.forename: James B
authors.initials: JB
authors.lastname: Young
authors.forename: Melanie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Hail
authors.forename: Nancy M
authors.initials: NM
authors.lastname: Albert
authors.forename: Nicholas
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Smedira
authors.forename: Mina K
authors.initials: MK
authors.lastname: Chung
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology*; D006348:Cardiac Surgical Procedures / Q000009:adverse effects; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D005260:Female; D006352:Heart Ventricles; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D015996:Survival Rate