Heart failure (HF) is a major burden of disease in industrialised countries with an associated lifetime risk of about 20% in both men and women.
1 By definition, heart failure is a functional disease in which cardiac output is unable to meet the demands of the organs. In spite of this, a significant part of mortality in HF patients is caused by sudden cardiac death (SCD), predominantly the outcome of ventricular arrhythmias.
1 Nevertheless, mechanisms underlying the evolution of increased vulnerability to arrhythmias during the development of heart failure are not fully comprehended. …