The correct rate of implantation for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) and CRT-D devices is not known, but practice surveys suggest persistent under-utilization of these treatments on both sides of the Atlantic. Although recent clinical trial results and the implementation of current guidelines appear to have encouraged a growth of the rate of implantation in most countries, there re...

A 58 year-old-patient developed an episode of polymorphic atrial tachycardia which looked like "atrial torsades de pointes" after a 5J shock from implantable cardioverter defibrillator.

BACKGROUND Patients with reduced left ventricular function after myocardial infarction are at risk for life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. This randomized trial was designed to evaluate the effect of an implantable defibrillator on survival in such patients. METHODS Over the course of four years, we enrolled 1232 patients with a prior myocardial infarction and a left ventricular ejectio...

BACKGROUND Patients with cardiac sarcoidosis are at increased risk of ventricular tachycardia/fibrillation. OBJECTIVE We tested the hypothesis that the wearable cardioverter defibrillator can be used to mitigate the risk of sudden cardiac death among cardiac sarcoidosis patients. METHODS A retrospective review of the commercial database identified cardiac sarcoidosis patients who wore the w...

Increased utilization of cardiovascular implantable electronic devices (CIED) has seen a corresponding rise in related infections. Non-tuberculosis mycobacteria (NTM) are rarely the cause. Treatment involves susceptibilities, antimicrobials, and device removal. This study presents a patient who underwent a biventricular implantable cardioverter defibrillator upgrade with a multi-drug resistant ...

Stored atrial and ventricular electrograms retrieved from dual chamber implantable defibrillators facilitate the diagnosis of arrhythmias. This case also illustrates the usefulness of programmed atrial and ventricular stimulation for noninvasive rhythm diagnosis in patients with a wide QRS tachycardia and an implantable defibrillator.

BACKGROUND Sudden death (SD) is a frequent catastrophic complication in patients after myocardial infarction. Circumstances of SD may affect strategies for prevention. METHODS AND RESULTS We reviewed source documentation for 1067 patients who had SD in the Valsartan in Acute Myocardial Infarction Trial (VALIANT) trial. We determined the circumstances of these events and assessed long-term mor...

BACKGROUND The impact of QRS morphology and duration on the effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) has been usually assessed separately. The interaction between these 2 simple ECG parameters and their effect on CRT has not been systematically assessed in a large-scale clinical trial. METHODS AND RESULTS The Resynchronization-Defibrillation for Ambulatory Heart Failure Trial ...