Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD), Q&A with Pamela Mason, MD

Learn more: http://uvahealth.com/cardiacarrest
UVA Heart Rhythm Center physician Pamela Mason, MD, explains what implantable cardioverter defibrillators are, how they work and which patients are good candidates for such devices.

She also shares how the Cardiac Device Clinic provides troubleshooting for complex heart device issues and offers remote monitoring to patients with implantable cardiac devices (ICDs).

PAMELA MASON, MD: ICD stands for implantable cardioverter defibrillator, or more commonly, they're known as defibrillators. These are implantable devices. They're somewhat similar to pacemakers. Although, in addition to being able to provide pacing therapy if heart rhythms are very slow, they can also treat dangerous fast heart rhythms. We call those rhythms ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation, and they can cause patients to die. And so for patients who've experienced those conditions, or we know to be at risk for them, we can get them one of these devices and make sure they're protected from dangerous heart rhythm abnormalities. ICD implantation is actually considered to be a fairly modest procedure. The whole procedure is not done under general anesthesia. We do it under conscious sedation and with some local anesthetic. The whole procedure is done through a two-inch incision in the shoulder. We make a small pocket under the skin for the battery to sit. And then there is one or more wires that goes through the blood vessel under the collarbone and down into the heart. The whole procedure only takes about an hour in most patients, and most patients go home the next day. The University of Virginia defibrillator clinic provides comprehensive care for these devices. Not only do we implant them, but we follow patients long term, and also can provide treatment for any arrhythmias that occur and are treated by the defibrillator. Most patients who have defibrillators live completely normal lives. These devices are small enough and are functional enough that most patients have very little limitation to their lifestyle once they receive them. After patients receive pacemakers or defibrillators, their recovery is usually fairly quick. Most patients go home the next day. They have some arm movement limitations for about a week. But, ultimately, after a complete healing, which occurs in about a month, patients are released to full activities.

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