Heart failure & cardiomyopathies

Atrial fibrillation and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in non-ischaemic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: insights from the DANISH trial

EuropacePublished Secondary analysis of the DANISH randomised trial

Authors' conclusion

In the DANISH trial, the presence of AF was associated with a greater effect of ICD implantation on cardiovascular death, and although similar trends were observed for all-cause and sudden cardiovascular death, the treatment-by-subgroup interaction was not statistically significant for these outcomes.

Study context

Population
Patients with non-ischaemic HFrEF randomised in DANISH, by atrial fibrillation (AF) at baseline (history and/or on enrollment ECG)418 (37.5%) with AF
Participants
1,116 patients
Comparison
Primary prevention implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) vs usual clinical care, by AF status
Primary endpoint
All-cause death
Methodological detailssubgroup analysis by AF status
  • Subgroup analysis by AF status

Primary result

As reported in the abstract

All-cause death, by AF status
ICD vs Usual clinical careHazard ratio (95% CI)
With AF
0.78(0.59–1.03)
Without AF
0.98(0.75–1.27)

Secondary outcomes

OutcomeHR (95% CI)
CV death, by AF statusICDvs Usual clinical careWith AF0.67 (0.48–0.94)
CV death, by AF statusICDvs Usual clinical careWithout AF1.04 (0.76–1.41)
Sudden CV death, by AF statusICDvs Usual clinical careWith AF0.45 (0.24–0.82)
Sudden CV death, by AF statusICDvs Usual clinical careWithout AF0.76 (0.41–1.38)
  • CV death, by AF status: interaction P = 0.04
  • Sudden CV death, by AF status: interaction P = 0.20

Original publication

Atrial fibrillation and implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in non-ischaemic heart failure with reduced ejection fraction: insights from the DANISH trial. Europace. Published 24 September 2025. doi:10.1093/europace/euaf200

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