The authors retrospectively reviewed medical records of 150 patients who underwent deactivation of a pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator in a four-year period at a single tertiary care center. These were older patients (median age 79) and 99% had a poor or terminal prognosis. More than half of the patients had an advance directive, yet only […]
Tag: defibrillator
Novel ICD programming reduces mortality
The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) has consistently demonstrated benefit in reducing sudden cardiac death in patients at high risk of ventricular arrhythmias, but inappropriate ICD activations are a common occurrence with potential adverse effects on patient well-being and increased costs for health services. Strategies to reduce the frequency of inappropriate device activation without reducing efficacy in […]