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Should patients with severely impaired left ventricular function following myocardial infarction receive an implantable defibrillator?

Bruce P Wilson and Mark A McGuire
Med J Aust 2004; 180 (6): . || doi: 10.5694/j.1326-5377.2004.tb05927.x
Published online: 15 March 2004

Will implantation of defibrillators improve survival in patients with prior myocardial infarction and severely impaired left ventricular function?


  • Department of Cardiology, Royal Prince Alfred Hospital, Camperdown, NSW.


Correspondence: 

Competing interests:

None identified.

  • 1. Moss AJ, Hall WJ, Canon DS, et al. Improved survival with an implanted defibrillator in patients with coronary disease at high risk for ventricular arrhythmia. Multicentre Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial Investigators. N Engl J Med 1996; 335: 1933-1940.
  • 2. Buxton AE, Lee KL, Fisher JD, et al. A randomized study of the prevention of sudden death in patients with coronary artery disease. N Engl J Med 1999; 341: 1882-1890.
  • 3. Stevenson WG, Epstein LM. Predicting sudden death risk for heart failure patients in the implantable cardiovertor-defibrillator age. Circulation 2003; 107: 514-516.
  • 4. Moss AJ, Zereba W, Hall WJ, et al. Prophylactic implantation of a defibrillator in patients with myocardial infarction and reduced ejection fraction. N Engl J Med 2002; 346: 877-883.
  • 5. Willkoff BL, Cook JR, Epstein AE, et al. Dual-chamber pacing or ventricular backup pacing in patients with an implantable defibrillator: the Dual chamber and VVI Implantable Defibrillator (David) trial. JAMA 2002; 288: 3115-3123.
  • 6. Drug Utilisation Sub-Committee (DUSC). Australian Prescriber 2003; 26: 4.
  • 7. Salukhe TV, Francis DP, Sutton R. Comparison of medical therapy, pacing and defibrillation in heart failure (COMPANION) trial terminated early; combined biventricular pacemaker-defibrillators reduce all-cause mortality and hospitalization. Int J Cardiol 2003; 87: 119-120.
  • 8. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. Decision memo for implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) (CAG-00157N). Available at: www.cms.hhs.gov/mcd/viewdecisionmemo.asp?id=39 (accessed Feb 2004).

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