Why the study?
Does an implantable cardioverter defibrillator improve quality of life compared to antiarrhythmic drugs in patients with serious ventricular arrhythmias?
Population
800 patients with serious ventricular arrhythmias surviving 1 year in the AVID trial (n=384 AAD, n=416 ICD)
Comparison
Implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) vs Antiarrhythmic drug (AAD) therapy
Design
RCT, randomized
Follow-up
1 year
Authors
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Similar QoL with ICD or AAD supports shared decisions on ventricular arrhythmia therapy; extends prior RCTs to patient-reported outcomes.
Does an implantable cardioverter defibrillator improve quality of life compared to antiarrhythmic drugs in patients with serious ventricular arrhythmias?
In survivors of serious ventricular arrhythmias, ICD and AAD therapies are associated with similar quality of life outcomes at 1 year, though device shocks and medication adverse symptoms negatively impact QoL.
Schron et al. (2002) studied this question.