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.