Age and Effectiveness of Prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators
Authors: Alon Barsheshet, Ilan Goldenberg
Journal: Annals of Internal Medicine (2011)

Letters5 April 2011Age and Effectiveness of Prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter-DefibrillatorsAlon Barsheshet, MD and Ilan Goldenberg, MDAlon Barsheshet, MDFrom Heart Research Follow-Up Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642. and Ilan Goldenberg, MDFrom Heart Research Follow-Up Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642.Author, Article, and Disclosure Informationhttps://doi.org/10.7326/0003-4819-154-7-201104050-00013 SectionsAboutFull TextPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissions ShareFacebookTwitterLinkedInRedditEmail TO THE EDITOR:Santangeli and colleagues' meta-analysis (1) evaluating the effectiveness of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death among young and elderly patients concluded that available data do not definitively show that ICDs improve survival in elderly patients. We agree with the authors that these findings have important clinical implications and might support the theory that cardiac resynchronization therapy alone may be the best device therapy for elderly (>65 years) patients with severe left ventricular dysfunction. However, we would like to raise several points that may shed additional light on the findings and implications of this ...References1. Santangeli P, Di Biase L, Dello Russo A, Casella M, Bartoletti S, Santarelli P, et al. Meta-analysis: age and effectiveness of prophylactic implantable cardioverter-defibrillators. Ann Intern Med. 2010;153:592-9. [PMID: 21041579] LinkGoogle Scholar2. Rich MW. Office management of heart failure in the elderly. Am J Med. 2005;118:342-8. [PMID: 15808129] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar3. Gustafsson F, Torp-Pedersen C, Seibaek M, Burchardt H, Kober L; DIAMOND study group. Effect of age on short and long-term mortality in patients admitted to hospital with congestive heart failure. Eur Heart J. 2004;25:1711-7. [PMID: 15451149] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar4. Goldenberg I, Moss AJ. Treatment of arrhythmias and use of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators to improve survival in elderly patients with cardiac disease. Clin Geriatr Med. 2007;23:205-19. [PMID: 17126763] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar5. Goldenberg I, Vyas AK, Hall WJ, Moss AJ, Wang H, He H, et al; MADIT-II Investigators. Risk stratification for primary implantation of a cardioverter-defibrillator in patients with ischemic left ventricular dysfunction. J Am Coll Cardiol. 2008;51:288-96. [PMID: 18206738] CrossrefMedlineGoogle Scholar Author, Article, and Disclosure InformationAffiliations: From Heart Research Follow-Up Program, University of Rochester Medical Center, Rochester, NY 14642.Disclosures: None disclosed. PreviousarticleNextarticle Advertisement FiguresReferencesRelatedDetailsSee AlsoMeta-analysis: Age and Effectiveness of Prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators Pasquale Santangeli , Luigi Di Biase , Antonio Dello Russo , Michela Casella , Stefano Bartoletti , Pietro Santarelli , Gemma Pelargonio , and Andrea Natale Age and Effectiveness of Prophylactic Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators Pasquale Santangeli , Luigi Di Biase , and Andrea Natale Metrics Cited ByCurrent Evidence Base for Use of the Implantable Cardioverter–Defibrillator 5 April 2011Volume 154, Issue 7Page: 505KeywordsAge groupsClinical epidemiologyElderlyMedical risk factorsSudden cardiac deathTachycardia ePublished: 5 April 2011 Issue Published: 5 April 2011 CopyrightCopyright © 2011 by American College of Physicians. All Rights Reserved.PDF DownloadLoading ...