What is an ICD?
A. ICD = Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator. Like a pacemaker, it is a device to correct cardiac arrhythmia. This device usually has a pacing function to overcome slow beats. The cardioversion-defibrillation circuitry provides a short burst of high voltage electricity to disrupt the “fluttering” when a heart races as fast as 300+ beats per minute, and restore a normal (sinus rhythm) heart beat.
An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator is a small, metal encased electronic device usually implanted below the skin just below the collar bone which like a pacemaker is used to treat arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms). Unlike a pacemaker, which treats slow arrhythmias, the ICD treats both fast and slow heart rates. The fast heart rates primarily treated with ICDs are those that originate from the ventricles, or bottom chambers of the heart and are life threatening, ventricular tachycardia (VT) and ventricular fibrillation (VF). Special lead wires that “connect” the ICD to the heart are used to both monitor the heart and deliver the necessary therapies. Some ICDs are also being implanted for patients who are at high risk of developing ventricular arrhythmias. Some patients who have had a heart attack and have weakened heart muscles are at risk for developing these arrhythmias.
