Editorial Assessing Risk for Ventricular Tachyarrhythmias and Sudden Cardiac Death Is There a Role for Cardiac MRI?

Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is most commonly precipi-tated by malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias and readily prevented by insertion of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs). However, our ability to identify which individuals are at highest risk for SCD and thus candidates for ICDs remains inadequate. Current clinical guidelines for selecting patients who have yet to experience clinical evi-dence of sustained ventricular arrhythmias target those with reduced global left ventricular (LV) function (LV ejection fraction [LVEF] 30–35 % with or without heart failure) as meeting criteria for primary prevention ICDs.1 Patients who have survived a cardiac arrest episode, in the absence of a reversible cause, generally meet criteria for secondary pre-vention ICDs, as may individuals presenting with sustained ventricular tachyarrhythmias, particularly those with struc-tural heart disease.1 Using an LVEF threshold focuses o