title: The role of pharmacotherapy in the prevention of sudden cardiac death in patients with heart failure.
abstract: Sudden cardiac death remains a significant threat to the survival of patients with heart failure. Long-term cardiac remodeling predisposes these patients to develop malignant ventricular arrhythmias. Permanent implantable and temporary external defibrillators remain a mainstay for the prevention of sudden cardiac death in this population. For decades, researchers have attempted to identify reliable drug therapies to avoid such arrhythmias; however, to date, success has been inconsistent. This review aims to explore the evidence defining the role of drug therapies for direct and indirect suppression of arrhythmias that may cause sudden cardiac death in patients with heart failure.
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center, 6411 Fannin Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA. phillip.weeks@memorialhermann.org.
authors.forename: Phillip A
authors.initials: PA
authors.lastname: Weeks
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center, 6411 Fannin Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Sieg
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmacy, Memorial Hermann - Texas Medical Center, 6411 Fannin Street, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Jennifer Ann
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Gass
authors.affiliation: Center for Advanced Heart Failure, University of Texas Health Science Center, 6400 Fannin Street, Suite 2300, Houston, TX, 77030, USA.
authors.forename: Indranee
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Rajapreyar
mesh_terms: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000517:prevention & control*; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000150:complications* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006801:Humans; D016032:Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000517:prevention & control*
chemical_list: D000889:Anti-Arrhythmia Agents
keywords: Antiarrhythmic drugs; Heart failure; Pharmacotherapy prevention; Sudden cardiac death; Ventricular arrhythmia; Ventricular fibrillation