The lifesaving benefits of implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) therapy are more and more weighted against possible harm (e.g. unnecessary device therapy, procedural complications, device malfunction etc.) which might have adverse effects on patients' perceived health status and quality of life. Hence, there has been an increasing interest in the optimisation of ICD programming to preve...

OBJECTIVE To evaluate the initial clinical performance of a prototype injection control device (ICD) to facilitate fat grafting by injection. METHODS An ICD, which mechanically couples the act of withdrawing the cannula with the act of depressing the plunger, was fabricated for the purpose of facial fat grafting. The action of the device results in deposition of consistent threads of fat havi...

BACKGROUND Arrhythmogenic right ventricular dysplasia/cardiomyopathy (ARVD/C) is characterized by frequent life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, diagnosed on average in the teens to mid-50s and commonly treated by implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). As younger age and high frequency of ICD discharges are risk factors for difficulties in psychosocial adjustment, we developed a st...

IMPORTANCE Interrogations and autopsies of sudden deaths with cardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs) are rarely performed. Therefore, causes of sudden deaths with these devices and the incidence of device failure are unknown. OBJECTIVE To determine causes of death in individuals with CIEDs in a prospective autopsy study of all sudden deaths over 35 months as part of the San Francisco,...

Rotary ventricular assist device (VAD) support of the cardiovascular system is susceptible to suction events due to the limited preload sensitivity of these devices. This may be of particular concern with rotary biventricular support (BiVAD) where the native, flow balancing Starling response is diminished in both ventricles. The reliability of sensor and sensorless-based control systems which a...

Although the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is now established as safe and effective for prevention of sudden cardiac death (SCD) in children, pediatrics accounts for less than 1% of market share, inhibiting corporate financial incentive for development of a pediatricspecific device. Over the past two decades since the ICD became clinically available, progressive downsizing of dev...

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...

BACKGROUND Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy is well known to reduce mortality in selected patients with heart failure (HF). OBJECTIVE To investigate whether monitored episodes of non-sustained ventricular tachycardia (NSVT) might predict future HF hospitalizations in ICD recipients with HF. METHODS We examined 104 ICD recipients (mean age: 60 ± 10.1 years, 80.8 % male) w...