The Role of the Cardioversion Defibrillator in Post Myocardial Infarction Sudden Cardiac Death: A Systematic Review of Clinical Trials and Observational Studies

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) accounts for approximately half of all the deaths attributed to cardiovascular disease in the United States. Survivors of an acute myocardial infarction (AMI) are at high risk of SCD, largely due to cardiac arrhythmias and severe left ventricular (LV) systolic dysfunction. The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or automated implantable cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) is a device that is implantable inside the body, able to perform cardioversion, defibrillation, and (in modern versions) pacing of the heart. According to a study included in our review, patients who received an ICD contributed to an adjusted 44% reduction (hazard ratio [HR] 0.56, 95% CI: 0.32-1.01; P = 0.053) of all-cause mortality compared to those with a comparable baseline. Patients with an ICD implant three months after a myocardial infarction (MI) demonstrated a non-significantly higher mortality than patients who did not receive an ICD. The factors favoring ICD implantation were multiple MIs, increased resting heart rate, occurrence of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia, QRS duration = 120 ms, syncope events, anti-arrhythmic drug treatment (mostly Class III), and an index MI of more than one year. The likelihood of receiving an ICD diminished with the patient’s age. Increased periodic repolarization dynamics were a significant predictor of mortality. It can be concluded that cardioverter defibrillators help reduce not only all-cause mortality but also sudden cardiac death. It is important to note that ICDs are only significant if implanted after a sufficient time-gap post-MI.