The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) has become an integral part of treatment for a variety of patients with symptomatic, or at risk for, ventricular tachyarrhythmias. The ICD's effectiveness is attributed to its ability to promptly detect and terminate ventricular tachycardia (VT) and fibrillation (VF). The clinical trials that established the positive role of ICD therapy were base...

AIMS Our aim was to evaluate the potential for safely imaging patients with a new type of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator called the subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) in a 1.5 T magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner. With the increasing number of patients with cardiac implantable devices who are indicated for MRI, there is a growing need for establishing MRI ...

BACKGROUND In the Canadian Implantable Defibrillator Study (CIDS), we assessed the cost-effectiveness of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in reducing the risk of death in survivors of previous ventricular tachycardia (VT) or fibrillation (VF). METHODS AND RESULTS Healthcare resource use was collected prospectively on the first 430 patients enrolled in CIDS (n=212 ICD, n=218 am...

Current state-of-the art implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) systems have been proven to be safe and effective in treating ventricular arrhythmias leading to cardiac death. ICDs require placement of at least one lead in, or on, the heart. Surgical placement under fluoroscopy and the ongoing presence of the transvenous leads within the patient's heart are associated with a significant p...

BACKGROUND The wearable cardioverter-defibrillator (WCD) has emerged as a valuable tool to temporarily protect patients at risk for sudden cardiac death (SCD). The aim of this study was to determine the value of the WCD for therapy optimization of heart failure patients. METHODS One hundred five consecutive patients that received WCD between 4/2012 and 9/2016 were included in the study. All p...

BACKGROUND Platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) and relative lymphocyte count (L%) are commonly available tests that can be obtained from complete blood count. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between appropriate defibrillator therapy and PLR, and whether decreased lymphocyte count may predict appropriate implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shocks in heart failure...

AIMS QT variability has been reported to be associated with ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. There is limited data regarding variability in T-wave morphology and its prognostic value. In this study, we present a novel approach for the measurement of T-wave variability (TWV) reflecting changes in T-wave morphology, and we investigate the prognostic significance of Holter-derived...

AIMS The association of psychosocial and physical factors with health outcome in patients with congestive heart failure (CHF) has not been fully explored. The aim of this study was to assess the physical and mental health in relationship to health outcome in post-infarction patients with advanced left ventricular dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS A total of 1058 patients enrolled in the Multic...

AIMS The development of new extraction techniques has improved the success rate of intravascular extraction of pacemaker and defibrillator leads, and hence the practice of extraction is expanding. However, the indications for lead extraction of malfunctioning leads in patients with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) are still not well established. METHODS AND RESULTS We reviewed ...

A 46-year-old man presented to our institution with inappropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shock delivery. The ICD (single chamber, dual shock coils) was implanted for sustained monomorphic ventricular tachycardia with unstable hemodynamics and underlying systolic left ventricular dysfunction. ICD interrogation revealed recurrent episodes of ICD shock due to noise sensing an...