Table 1.
Baseline clinical characteristics stratified according to sex
| Female | Male | P value | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Number of patients (n/phase) | 265 | 1206 | |
| Age (mean ± SD) | 59.6 ± 16.2 | 61.7 ± 13.2 | 0.059 |
| Follow‐up (mean ± SD), y | 4.3 ± 3.8 | 4.1 ± 3.6 | 0.369 |
| Ischemic Heart Disease (n,%) | 119 (44.9) | 789 (65.4) | <0.001 |
| Dilative Cardiomyopathy (n,%) | 56 (21.1) | 249 (20.6) | 0.870 |
| Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy (n,%) | 23 (8.7) | 50 (4.1) | 0.002 |
| Channelopathies (n,%) | 29 (10.9) | 36 (3.0) | <0.001 |
| Idiopathic VF (n,%) | 10 (3.8) | 22 (1.8) | 0.049 |
| Others (n, %) | 28 (10.6) | 60 (5.0) | 0.001 |
| Antiarrhythmic drugs according to Vaughan Williams | |||
| Class 1 (n,%) | 3 (1.1) | 9 (7.5) | 0.971 |
| Class 2 (n,%) | 205 (77.4) | 988 (81.9) | 0.187 |
| Class 3 (n,%) | 72 (27.2) | 415 (34.4) | 0.028 |
| Class 4 (n,%) | 32 (12.1) | 107 (8.9) | 0.835 |
| Sotalol (n,%) | 10 (3.8) | 44 (3.6) | 0.509 |
| ACE Inhibitors/ARB (n,%) | 187 (70.6) | 947 (78.5) | 0.143 |
| Digitalis glycosides (n,%) | 25 (9.4) | 143 (11.9) | 0.116 |
| Aldosterone Antagonists (n,%) | 109 (41.1) | 477 (39.6) | 0.313 |
| Diuretics (n,%) | 139 (52.5) | 677 (56.1) | 0.182 |
| LVEF (existing data, %) | |||
| LVEF ‐ normal (n, %) | 71 (26.8) | 163 (13.5) | <0.001 |
| LVEF ‐ mild reduction (n, %) | 31 (11.7) | 127 (10.5) | 0.401 |
| LVEF ‐ moderate reduction (n, %) | 31 (11.7) | 217 (18.0) | 0.028 |
| LVEF ‐ severe reduction (n, %) | 99 (37.4) | 607 (50.3) | 0.001 |
| Primary prevention (n, %) | 125 (47.2) | 623 (51.7) | 0.149 |
| VVI (n, %) | 105 (39.6) | 524 (43.4) | 0.210 |
| DDD (n, %) | 104 (39.2) | 382 (31.7) | 0.018 |
| CRT‐D (n, %) | 57 (21.5) | 299 (24.8) | 0.270 |
| Hypertension (n,%) | 155 (58.5) | 799 (66.2) | 0.017 |
| Hyperlipedimia (n,%) | 66 (24.9) | 389 (32.2) | 0.019 |
| Diabetes Mellitus (n,%) | 44 (16.6) | 260 (21.6) | 0.071 |
Abbreviations: AAR, antiarrhythmic drugs; ACE, angiotensin converting enzyme; ARB, angiotensin receptor blockers; CRT‐D, cardiac resynchronization therapy‐defibrillator; DDD, dual chamber implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator; ICD, implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator; LVEF, left ventricular ejection fraction; SD, standard deviation; VF, ventricular fibrillation.