The Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death

Presenting the latest diagnostic and therapeutic developments in a multifaceted field, this book addresses the problems involved in preventing sudden cardiac death (SCD), focusing on risk stratification techniques designed to direct the selection and application of appropriate treatment modalities. Material reflects recent discoveries concerning the epidemiology and SCD pathophysiology, offering guidelines for more rational treatment approaches, both pharmacologic and interventional. The text reviews the vast epidemiologic data from the Framingham Study, with special emphasis on identifying clinical risk factors and the relation of coronary heart disease to SCD. It also details the background for risk stratification based on well-established exercise testing and ambulatory electrocardiography techniques, as well as newer methods of electrophysiologic testing and signal average electrocardiography. Current prevention strategies--lifestyle alteration, prospective drug trials, surgical and implantable devices--are also discussed.