OBJECTIVES This study was designed to evaluate the relationship among blood pressure (BP) levels, risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD), and benefit of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in patients with ischemic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. BACKGROUND Low BP has been shown to be associated with increased mortality in patients with LV dysfunction and heart failure. We hypothe...

BACKGROUND The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter defibrillator (S-ICD) has been developed to avert risks associated with transvenous defibrillator leads. The technology is attractive for younger patients, such as those with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM). However, there are limited data on S-ICD use in HCM. METHODS AND RESULTS HCM patients identified at risk for sudden death were consi...

BACKGROUND The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is superior to amiodarone for secondary prophylaxis of sudden cardiac death. However, the magnitude of this benefit over long-term follow-up is not known. Thus, our objective was to evaluate the long-term consequences of using amiodarone versus an ICD as first-line monotherapy in patients with a prior history of sustained ventricular t...

Lead endocarditis is an infrequent but potentially lethal complication of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) implantation. We report a case of a 53-year-old man with ICD who was admitted to our hospital because of fever, chills, shivering, headache and malaise. Transthoracic echocardiography detected a structure highly suspect of vegetation located on the ICD lead. Transesophageal ech...

A 17-year-old man was referred for aborted sudden cardiac death. Ventricular fibrillation (VF) was recorded by automated external defibrillator. Post-resuscitation electrocardiograms showed frequent monomorphic premature ventricular complexes (PVCs), with left bundle branch block configuration and inferior axis. Cardiac arrest due to VF recurred twice within the initial 42 hours. Rhythm monitor...

Introduction The rate of implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) lead perforations has been reported to be in the range of 0.6%– 5.2%, with the majority of cases occurring within 1 month of implantation. However, isolated reports of delayed ICD lead perforations occurring more than 1 year and up to 3 years after implantation have been described. Here, we present a case of a patient with a ...

Introduction It has previously been reported that patients with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) may have a slightly higher defibrillation threshold (DFT) in an upright position compared to a supine position. However, the significance of this and the potential impact on clinical practice remains unclear. We report a case of defibrillation failure caused by an increase in DFT in t...

The subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) is a novel technology with proven efficacy in sudden cardiac death prevention; however, there is a lack of long-term safety data. We describe the case of a 55-year-old female patient implanted with an S-ICD due to idiopathic ventricular fibrillation, who subsequently presented with inappropriate shocks leading to ventricular fibril...

The clinical value of the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) in reducing sudden cardiac death has been proved in selected patients with ischaemic or non-ischaemic cardiomyopathy. Since the introduction of the ICD in the 1980s, the technology has evolved from an epicardial to a transvenous approach. Recently, the subcutaneous cardioverter-defibrillator (S-ICD) has been added to the arm...