Preventing tomorrow's sudden cardiac death today: part II: Translating sudden cardiac death risk assessment strategies into practice and policy.
Although current evidence supporting a more precise strategy for identifying patients at highest risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD) is sparse, strategies for translating existing and future evidence into clinical practice and policy are needed today. A great many unanswered questions exist. Examples include the following: At what level of risk for SCD should we pursue further testing or therapy? How should clinical strategies ethically and economically balance alternative outcomes? How can we best translate optimal strategies into clinical practice so as to prevent tomorrow's SCDs? On July 20 and 21, 2006, a group of individuals with expertise in clinical cardiovascular medicine, biostatistics, economics, and health policy was joined by government (Food and Drug Administration; Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services; National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality), professional societies (Heart Rhythm Society), and industry to discuss strategies for risk assessment and prevention of SCD. The meeting was organized by the Duke Center for the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death and the Duke Clinical Research Institute. This article, the second of 2 documents, summarizes the policy discussions of that meeting, discusses an analytic framework for evaluating the risks and benefits associated with SCD prevention and risk stratification, and addresses the translation of SCD risk assessment strategies into practice and policy.
Sanders
Gillian D
GD
Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke Medical Center, Durham, NC 27715, USA. gillian.sanders@duke.edu
Al-Khatib
Sana M
SM
Berliner
Elise
E
Bigger
J Thomas
JT
Buxton
Alfred E
AE
Califf
Robert M
RM
Carlson
Mark
M
Curtis
Anne B
AB
Curtis
Jeptha P
JP
Domanski
Michael
M
Fain
Eric
E
Gersh
Bernard J
BJ
Gold
Michael R
MR
Goldberger
Jeffrey
J
Haghighi-Mood
Ali
A
Hammill
Stephen C
SC
Harder
Joel
J
Healey
Jeffrey
J
Hlatky
Mark A
MA
Hohnloser
Stefan H
SH
Lee
Kerry L
KL
Mark
Daniel B
DB
Mitchell
Brent
B
Phurrough
Steve
S
Prystowsky
Eric
E
Smith
Joseph M
JM
Stockbridge
Norman
N
Temple
Robert
R
D000367:Age Factors; D003362:Cost-Benefit Analysis; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000517:prevention & control*; D003661:Decision Support Techniques; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000191:economics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D005544:Forecasting; D006331:Heart Diseases / Q000401:mortality* / Q000628:therapy*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017060:Patient Satisfaction; D011050:Policy Making; D011322:Primary Prevention / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics / Q000639:trends*; D012106:Research / Q000639:trends; D018570:Risk Assessment / Q000191:economics / Q000941:ethics / Q000379:methods / Q000639:trends*; D012737:Sex Factors; D016019:Survival Analysis