Beinart R, Goldenberg I, Younis A, et al. - Researchers investigated the link of systolic blood pressure (SBP) on risk of ventricular tachyarrhythmias (VTA) and atrial arrhythmias as well as appropriate and inappropriate ICD therapy among 1481/1500 (99%) patients enrolled in the MADIT-RIT trial. In multivariate analysis, each 10 mmHg reduction in SBP was shown to be related to corresponding 11% raised risk for VTA. Low SBP (≤ 120 mmHg) was identified to be related to a significant 58% raised risk for VTA ≥ 170 bpm; 53% elevated risk for VTA ≥ 200 bpm; and 65% increased risk for appropriate ICD therapy, vs SBP > 120 mmHg. Overall, higher rates of VTA were predicted by SBP (≤ 120 mmHg) in the MADIT-RIT trial. These results indicate that SBP may be used for VTA risk stratification among candidates for primary ICD therapy.