Table 1 Demographical characteristics of the study group.
| Patients | |
| N | 31 |
| Men/women | 25/6 |
| Mean (range) age (years) | 65 (44–79) |
| ICD indication | |
| VT/VF | 20/11 |
| Aetiology of heart failure | |
| Ischaemic cardiomyopathy | 19 |
| Non‐ischaemic cardiomyopathy | 12 |
| NYHA class at first implantation | |
| I* | 4 |
| II* | 12 |
| III | 15 |
| Duration of ICD treatment | |
| Mean (range) number of months | 40 (1–126) |
| Number of shocks | |
| 0 | 19 |
| 1–5 | 10 |
| >5 | 2 |
ICD, implantable cardioverter–defibrillator; NYHA, New York Heart Association; VF, ventricular fibrillation; VT, ventricular tachycardia.
*Ejection fraction estimated by echocardiogram to be <40% at the time of their first implantation.