Diminishing proportional risk of sudden death with advancing age: implications for prevention of sudden death

BACKGROUND: Advances in primary and secondary prevention of sudden death have led to a wide array of potentially beneficial therapies. Identification of patients most likely to benefit would be of use when considering costly interventions such as an implantable defibrillator. We sought to determine the effect of advancing age on the mode of death in the Amiodarone Trialists Metanalysis. METHODS AND RESULTS: Patients (n = 6252; age, 61.2+/-10.5 …