Arrhythmias in Heart Failure

Cardiac arrhythmias are very common in the setting of heart failure, with atrial and ventricular arrhythmias often present in the same patient. The risk and the benefit of antiarrhythmic therapies are still a matter of debate. Class I antiarrhythmic drugs should be avoided in patients with heart failure, cardiac ischemia, or previous myocardial infarction. Beta-blocker agents reduce morbidity and decrease mortality in patients suffering from moderate to severe heart failure. Amiodarone may be beneficial in patients with advanced heart failure and increased resting heart rates. This class III drug may be effective to suppress episodes of atrial fibrillation but can also be beneficial in reducing ventricular response by slowing atrioventricular conduction during chronic atrial fibrillation. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) markedly reduce sudden cardiac death in patients with ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. In patients with advanced heart failure, however, the ICD may not markedly extend survival. Recently analyzed data from the Canadian Implantable Defibrillator Study (CIDS), Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) registry, Multicenter Unsustained Tachycardia Trial (MUSTT), and Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial (MADIT) have consistently shown that it is the sickest patient who benefits the most from ICD therapy. Patients with markedly depressed ejection fraction (<30%), poor New York Heart Association functional class, and advanced age have been identified as those who really need ICD therapy. Studies of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators in patients with moderate to severe heart failure have been launched and will provide necessary answers to the question of whether a reduction in sudden death will translate into a reduction of all-cause mortality. For patients resuscitated from sustained ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, an ICD or, in some cases, amiodarone should be considered. Catheter or surgical ablation can be considered for selected patients with ventricular tachycardia.