Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy for prevention of sudden cardiac death.

Patients with known symptomatic ventricular tachycardia (VT) or ventricular fibrillation (VF) are at a high risk for sudden cardiac death. The various therapeutic choices that can be used to reduce the incidence of arrhythmic sudden cardiac death are discussed in this article. They include beta-blockers, class I and III antiarrhythmic agents, VT focal ablations, and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy.