Telemetry, Hibernating Myocardium and Sudden Death

How can we identify who is at risk for sudden cardiac death, when patients have no history of cardiac ischemia and no signs of coronary occlusion? Authors of the recent work by Pizzuto et al may have found answers in their innovative new animal model study. Associate Editor Fabio Recchia interviews senior author John Canty (University of Buffalo) and leading expert Edward McFalls (VA Medical Center, University of Minnesota) about the intricate study performed by Canty and colleagues in chronically instrumented pigs, which provides unique insights into telemetrically-measured left ventricular pressure changes immediately preceding sudden cardiac death. How will the lessons learned here translate to the clinical prevention of sudden cardiac death in humans?

Matthew F. Pizzuto, Gen Suzuki, Michael D Banas, Brendan M. Heavey, James A Fallavollita, and John M. Canty Dissociation of Hemodynamic and Electrocardiographic Indices of Myocardial Ischemia in Pigs with Hibernating Myocardium and Sudden Cardiac Death Am J Physiol Heart Circ Physiol, published online April 12, 2013, doi: 10.1152/ajpheart.00166.2013.