Clinical Management for Survivors of Sudden Cardiac Death

Sudden cardiac death is believed to affect as many as 400,000 people each year in the United States and is therefore an important public health problem. A common cause of sudden cardiac death is ventricular fibrillation. This article reviews the clinical and electrophysiologic aspects of sudden arrhythmic death and discusses current clinical management for survivors of sudden death. Particular emphasis is placed on the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD).