Heart images may help to predict the risk of sudden cardiac death in heart attack survivors, according to the largest analysis of cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) data to date. The late breaking research from the PROFID project is presented at EHRA 2022, a scientific congress of the European Society of Cardiology (ESC).

Heart attack survivors are selected for an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) based on their heart’s pump function, known as left ventricular ejection fraction,” said principal investigator Dr. Nikolaos Dagres. “Many patients who could benefit from a defibrillator do not qualify. On top of that, medical and interventional treatment of myocardial infarction has improved to the extent that very few patients who do qualify for an ICD will ever need it. PROFID aims to develop a risk prediction model and introduce – for the first time – a personalised approach to allocating ICDs.”

Sudden cardiac death accounts for approximately one in five fatalities and is u ...