Arrhythmias and sudden death after dynamic cardiomyoplasty.

Background The main causes of death in patients with severe cardiomyopathy are progressive heart failure and sudden death. The influence of cardiomyoplasty on the incidence of sudden death and arrhythmias in patients with cardiomyopathy remains unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of arrhythmias and sudden death after cardiomyoplasty. Methods and Results We studied 32 patients (26 male, 6 female; mean age, 48±12 years) who submitted to cardiomyoplasty for treatment of heart failure in New York Heart Association (NYHA) class III (n=24) or class IV (n=8). The etiology was idiopathic dilated cardiomyopathy in 27 patients, ischemic heart disease in 3 patients, and Chagas' heart disease in 2 patients