ICD use was associated with a significant reduction in mortality in LVAD patients, however, this effect was not significant in patients with CF-LVADs. Although these data support the use of ICDs, larger randomized trial data are strongly warranted to evaluate ICD effectiveness in patients with current generation LVADs.

Background: Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators are used to prevent sudden cardiac death in patients with cardiac sarcoidosis. The most recent recommendations for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in these patients are in the 2017 American Heart Association/American College of Cardiology/Heart Rhythm Society Guideline for Management of Patients With Ventricular Arrhythmias and the Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death. These recommendations, based on observational studies or expert opinion, have not been assessed. We aimed to assess them. Methods: We performed a large retrospective cohort study of patients with biopsy-proven sarcoidosis and known or suspected cardiac sarcoidosis that underwent cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging. Patients were followed for a composite end point of significant ventricular arrhythmia or sudden cardiac death. The discriminatory performance of the Guideline recommendations was tested using time-dependent receiver operating characteristic analyses. The optimal cutoff for the extent of late gadolinium enhancement predictive of the composite end point was determined using the Youden index. Results: In 290 patients, the class I and IIa recommendations identified all patients who experienced the composite end point during a median follow-up of 3.0 years. Patients meeting class I recommendations had a significantly higher incidence of the composite end point than those meeting class IIa recommendations. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >35% with >5.7% late gadolinium enhancement on cardiovascular magnetic resonance imaging was as sensitive as and significantly more specific than LVEF >35% with any late gadolinium enhancement. Patients meeting 2 class IIa recommendations, LVEF >35% with the need for a permanent pacemaker and LVEF >35% with late gadolinium enhancement >5.7%, had high annualized event rates. Excluding 2 class IIa recommendations, LVEF >35% with syncope and LVEF >35% with inducible ventricular arrhythmia, resulted in improved discrimination for the composite end point. Conclusions: We assessed the Guideline recommendations for implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation in patients with known or suspected cardiac sarcoidosis and identified topics for future research.

Background: Late gadolinium enhancement (LGE) cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) imaging is more sensitive than echocardiography for the detection of intracardiac thrombus because of its unique ability to identify thrombus based on tissue characteristics related to avascularity. The long-term prognostic significance of left ventricular (LV) thrombus detected by LGE CMR is unknown. Methods: We performed a matched cohort study of consecutive adult patients with LV thrombus detected by LGE CMR who were matched on the date of CMR, age, and LV ejection fraction to up to 3 patients without LV thrombus. We investigated the long-term incidence of a composite of embolic events: stroke, transient ischemic attack, or extracranial systemic arterial embolism. We also compared outcomes among patients with LV thrombus detected by LGE CMR stratified by whether the LV thrombus was also detected by echocardiography or not. Results: Of 157 LV thrombus patients, 155 were matched to 400 non-LV thrombus patients. During a median follow-up of 3.3 years, the cumulative incidence of embolism was significantly higher in LV thrombus patients compared with the matched non-LV thrombus patients ( P <0.001), with annualized rates of 3.7% and 0.8% for LV thrombus and matched non-LV thrombus patients, respectively. LV thrombus was the only independent predictor of the composite embolic end point (hazard ratio, 3.99 [95% CI, 1.54–10.35]; P =0.004). The cumulative incidence of embolism was not different in patients with LV thrombus that was also detected by echocardiography versus patients with LV thrombus not detected by echocardiography ( P =0.25). Conclusions: Despite contemporary antithrombotic treatment, LV thrombus detected by LGE CMR is associated with a 4-fold higher long-term incidence of embolism compared with matched non-LV thrombus patients. LV thrombus detected by LGE CMR but not by echocardiography is associated with a similar risk of embolism as that detected by both LGE CMR and echocardiography.

No abstract

No abstract