Ventricular arrhythmias and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy in women: a propensity score-matched analysis

Funding Acknowledgements Type of funding sources: None. Introduction The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is an established therapy for the prevention of sudden cardiac death in selected patients. Although current guidelines apply to both women and men, there is a growing awareness that the incidence of cardiac arrhythmias and device interventions is influenced by sex. Purpose To investigate sex-specific risk of sustained ventricular arrhythmias (SVAs) and device therapies, using remote monitoring data from ICDs and cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators (CRT-Ds). Methods Study endpoints were time to the first appropriate SVA, time to the first appropriate device therapy for SVA, and time to the first ICD shock. Appropriateness of device-detected SVAs was adjudicated by three expert electrophysiologists. Results were compared between women and a 1:1 propensity score (PS)-matched subgroup of men. Results In a cohort of 2,532 patients with an ICD or CRT-D (median age, 70 years), 488 patients (19.3%) were women. As compared to men, women more frequently had a CRT-D (51% vs. 40%, p Conclusion In our analysis of remote monitoring data, women exhibited a lower SVA risk profile than PS-matched men in the subgroup of patients with an ICD or/and ejection fraction ≥30%.