Antiarrhythmic drugs or implantable cardioverter defibrillators in heart failure: the “poor heart”

Ventricular tachycardia and ventricular fibrillation account for a substantial proportion of all deaths in patients with heart failure. Of currently available therapies, amiodarone and the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) appear to have the greatest potential to decrease sudden death in heart failure. In this article, the presently available information on the relative role of antiarrhythmic drugs, with a focus on amiodarone and ICDs in heart failure, is reviewed.