Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Fail-

SUDDEN CARDIAC DEATH IS Aleading cause ofmortality in theUnited States. Overall, the riskof sudden cardiac death in-creases with age and is higher in men than in women, although the sex dif-ference narrows and eventually disap-pears after age 85 years.1 Patients with significant left ventricular systolic dys-function are at increased risk for sud-den cardiac death, but the majority of events occur in the absence of overt heart disease.2 Evidence from the Multicente