SCD-HeFT 10 Year Follow-up

Long-term outcome data for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy is sorely needed. We will acquire these data by re-approaching the patient population from the original Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT).\[Bardy 2005\] This research is supported by the National Heart Lung and Blood Institute of the National Institutes of Health. SCD-HeFT was originally conducted from 1997 to 2003. It demonstrated unequivocally that ICD's save lives in patients with heart failure compared to placebo or amiodarone. More than 26 peer-reviewed publications, including three NEJM papers, have resulted from this work.\[Bardy 2005, Poole 2008, Mark 2008\] Despite the quality of SCD-HeFT and the evidence of the life-saving ability of ICD therapy, the role of ICD therapy in the management of patients with heart failure continues to be questioned. This study will provide long-term follow-up of the SCD-HeFT patients, which will now exceed 10 years on average.