Follow-up of the patient with an implanted cardiac defibrillator

Abstract

Since the initial development of the implantable defibrillator in the 1970s by Michel Mirowski, and commercial introduction in 1985, national surveys and industry analysts have estimated that more than 160,000 implants have been performed in the United States (1). Multicenter randomized trials have demonstrated the effectiveness of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) for reducing mortality in high-risk patient groups (2,3). It has been estimated that more than 700,000 patients are eligible for an ICD in the United States. The newest generation of ICDs are capable of defibrillation of ventricular fibrillation, pace termination of ventricular tachycardia, single or dual chamber pacing, and cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) depending on the model. In addition, ICDs now have multiple additional features including extensive programming options, detailed event histories, and real-time telemetry. © 2008 Springer-Verlag US.