This study found that therapy with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) significantly reduced the risk of death in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) who received state-of-the-art background medical therapy. This benefit was seen in patients with both ischemic and nonischemic CHF, and was more pronounced in patients in NYHA class II CHF. In contrast, the study found that the use of the drug amiodarone had no beneficial effect on survival in these patients. The study also found that the benefits of ICD therapy outweighed any complications related to its use. Previous studies have also examined the use of ICDs in patients with CHF, but the present study is the first to evaluate the use of shock-only ICDs in these patients.
https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/nejmoa043399
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