3.2.2.7 Sudden death
Sudden death occurred in 2 patients: one patient in each group. Both of them had remote monitoring but the device did not transmit the arrythmic events before collapse (they were not near the transmitter). In both of them autopsy and postmortem device interrogation were not performed. Thus an arrhytmic event was a possibility but not the definite cause of death. Of note, the patient who died suddenly in the new programming group had a Boston Scientific CRT-D and he was randomized for the high-rate arm which corresponds to the actual recommended manufacturer-specific programming configurations14.