Anticoagulation therapy in heart failure and sinus rhythm: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Objective: Heart failure is a prothrombotic state, and it has been hypothesised that thrombosis and embolism cause non-fatal and fatal events in heart failure and reduced ejection fraction (HFrEF). We sought to determine the effect of anticoagulant therapy on clinical outcomes in patients with HFrEF who are in sinus rhythm.

Methods: We conducted an updated systematic review and meta-analysis to examine the effect of anticoagulation therapy in patients with HFrEF in sinus rhythm.

Who Benefits From a Defibrillator-Balancing the Risk of Sudden Versus Non-sudden Death.

Purpose Of Review: Treatment with a defibrillator can reduce the risk of sudden death by terminating ventricular arrhythmias. The identification of patient groups in whom this function reduces overall mortality is challenging. In this review, we summarise the evidence for who benefits from a defibrillator.

Non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy, sudden death and implantable defibrillators: a review and meta-analysis.

Objective: The recent Danish Study to Assess the Efficacy of ICDs in Patients with Non-ischemic Systolic Heart Failure on Mortality (DANISH) trial suggested that implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) do not reduce overall mortality in patients with non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy (NICM), despite reducing sudden cardiac death. We performed an updated meta-analysis to examine the impact of ICD therapy on mortality in NICM patients.

Methods: A systematic search for studies that examined the effect of ICDs on outcomes in NICM was performed.