MUSIC (Sudden Cardiac Death in Chronic Heart Failure)

The MUSIC (MUerte Subita en Insuficiencia Cardiaca) study is a prospective, multicentre, longitudinal study designed to assess risk predictors of cardiac mortality and sudden cardiac death (SCD) in ambulatory patients with chronic heart failure (CHF). The study population consisted of 992 patients with CHF consecutively enrolled from the specialized HF clinics of eight University Spanish Hospitals between April 2003 and December 2004, and followed up for a median of 44 months (until November 2008). All patients had a 12-lead electrocardiogram (ECG), a 24 h, 2-(4%) or 3-lead (96%) Holter ECG, chest X-ray, echocardiography, and blood laboratory parameters performed at enrolment. Primary outcomes were cardiac death, either sudden cardiac death (SCD) or pump failure death (PFD) at the end of the follow-up period.