COMPARATIVE STUDY
JOURNAL ARTICLE
MULTICENTER STUDY
RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL
Add like
Add dislike
Add to saved papers

Syncope predicts the outcome of cardiomyopathy patients: analysis of the SCD-HeFT study.

OBJECTIVES: The outcome of congestive heart failure (CHF) patients with syncope is understood incompletely.

BACKGROUND: We analyzed data from patients enrolled in the SCD-HeFT (Sudden Cardiac Death Heart Failure Trial) to determine whether syncope predicted outcomes in patients with CHF.

METHODS: We compared outcomes (and associated clinical characteristics) in patients with and without syncope enrolled in SCD-HeFT.

RESULTS: In SCD-HeFT, 162 (6%) patients had syncope before randomization, 356 (14%) had syncope after randomization (similar incidence in each randomized arm), and 46 (2%) had syncope before and after randomization. A QRS duration >or=120 ms and absence of beta-blocker use predicted syncope during follow-up (hazard ratio [HR] 1.30 and 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.06 to 1.61, p = 0.014 and HR 1.25, 95% CI 1.01 to 1.56, p = 0.048, respectively). Syncope recurrence did not differ by randomization arm. However, in the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) arm, syncope, before and after randomization, was associated with appropriate ICD discharges (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.10 to 2.80, p = 0.019 and HR 2.91, 95% CI 1.89 to 4.47, p = 0.001, respectively). Post-randomization syncope predicted total and cardiovascular death (HR 1.41, 95% CI 1.13 to 1.76, p = 0.002 and HR 1.55, 95% CI 1.19 to 2.02, p = 0.001, respectively). The elevated relative risk of mortality for syncope versus non-syncope patients did not vary significantly across treatment arms (ICD, HR 1.54, 95% CI 1.04 to 2.27; amiodarone, HR 1.33, 95% CI 0.91 to 1.93; and placebo, HR 1.39, 95% CI 0.96 to 2.02, test for difference p = 0.86).

CONCLUSIONS: For CHF patients with ICDs, syncope was associated with appropriate ICD activations. Syncope was associated with increased mortality risk in SCD-HeFT regardless of treatment arm (placebo, amiodarone, or ICD).

Full text links

We have located links that may give you full text access.
Can't access the paper?
Try logging in through your university/institutional subscription. For a smoother one-click institutional access experience, please use our mobile app.

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

Mobile app image

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app

All material on this website is protected by copyright, Copyright © 1994-2024 by WebMD LLC.
This website also contains material copyrighted by 3rd parties.

By using this service, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy.

Your Privacy Choices Toggle icon

You can now claim free CME credits for this literature searchClaim now

Get seemless 1-tap access through your institution/university

For the best experience, use the Read mobile app