The Role of the Wearable Cardioverter- Defibrillator In Contemporary Clinical Practice

The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) has been shown to improve survival in patients at high risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). However, there remain situations in which an ICD may be inappropriate: the high risk for SCA is temporary, there is need for interruption of implanted ICD therapy (e.g. for infection), there is temporary inability to implant an ICD, there is bridge period to heart transplant, or there is refusal of an indicated ICD. In these situations a wearable cardioverter-defibrillator (WCD) can be used to protect against SCA during the bridging period. We review the potential role of the WCD in clinical practice and summarize the published studies detailing the use of the WCD.