Mechanism of death in heart failure. The Vasodilator-Heart Failure Trials. The V-HeFT VA Cooperative Studies Group.

Although mechanistically distinct terminal events can be identified in patients with heart failure and physiological measurements can provide some insight into the risk of these disparate events, sudden death and pump failure death both appear largely to be linked to the severity of cardiac dysfunction and symptoms. Strategies to identify individuals for selective preventive therapy are not yet practical.