conclusions patients who live with implantable cardioverter defibrillators face many concerns and challenges. therefore, the role of nurses in teaching patients before and after implementation is very important. results the challenges of living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator include: living with fear, concerns about the future, concerns about device malfunction, fearing death du...

Defibrillators which deliver biphasic waveforms are rapidly replacing defibrillators which deliver monophasic waveforms. Lower energy biphasic shocks cause less myocardial injury and subsequent post-resuscitation myocardial dysfunction thus potential improving the likelihood of survival.(1-4) Recommendations of the International Liaison Committee on Resuscitation (ILCOR) state that biphasic ene...

Erosive dermatitis is a skin reaction associated with implantable cardiac devices (ie, pacemakers and cardioverter defibrillators). We report a 65-year-old man with a history of several cerebrovascular attacks who developed an erythematous crusted erosive patch over the pacemaker site after implantation of two subsequent pacemakers. We suggest that physical irritation may be a trigger factor fo...

BACKGROUND Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) is characterized by frequent life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, diagnosed on average in the teens to mid-50s and commonly treated by implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). As younger age and high frequency of ICD discharges are risk factors for difficulties in psychosocial adjustment, we developed a st...

BACKGROUND Few data exist to characterize the delivery of evidence-based medical therapy for outpatients with heart failure who have received implantable cardioverter-defibrillators or cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) for systolic dysfunction. METHODS AND RESULTS IMPROVE HF is a prospective study characterizing the management of 15 381 outpatients with systolic heart failure (left vent...

OBJECTIVES Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are highly effective at preventing cardiac arrest, but their availability is limited by high cost. Automated external defibrillators (AEDs) are likely to be less effective, but also less expensive. We used decision analysis to evaluate the clinical and economic trade-offs of AEDs, ICDs, and emergency medical services equipped with defibr...

Public access defibrillation The time delay to defibrillation can be reduced by five minutes if performed by a first responder to the cardiac arrest rather than by the usual paramedic service. In a review of five controlled trials in which emergency medical technicians were taught to defibrillate, odds ratios for improved survival ranged from 3.3 to 6.9. Emergency medical technicians were taugh...

AIMS To investigate the susceptibility of implantable cardioverter defibrillators to electromagnetic interference generated by digital cellular telephones, functioning in both international transmission technologies: the Global System for Mobile Communication (GSM) and the Digital Cellular System (DCS 1800). METHODS AND RESULTS In 36 patients with transvenous implantable cardioverter defibril...