Annals of internal medicine
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Review Meta Analysis
Implantable cardioverter defibrillators in primary and secondary prevention: a systematic review of randomized, controlled trials.
Sudden cardiac death is common in persons with cardiovascular disease. ⋯ Implantable cardioverter defibrillators prevent sudden cardiac death regardless of baseline risk. However, their impact on total mortality is sensitive to baseline risk for arrhythmic death. Decisions about resource allocation for ICDs depend on accurate stratification of patients according to risk.