Implantable Heart Defibrillators Deliver Shock in More Ways Than One

Some people have abnormally fast heartbeats, sometimes as fast as 400 beats per minute. A heartbeat this fast can be life-threatening. The solution is an implantable defibrillator. VOA's Carol Pearson has the stories of two people whose lives have been saved by devices implanted directly into their heart.

 Heart-Device Study Raises Concern for Women and African-Americans

A recently published study found that while implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs, are able to improve survival rates, more long-term complications were seen among women and African-Americans than among males and white patients.

 This Device Can Save Your Life and Also Cause PTSD

More patients with life-threatening heart conditions like Huggins' are getting this devide implanted to fix the problem, and it's saving their lives. But it's also coming with a surprising side effect—about one in five patients develops post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

A Heart Quandary

What does it feel like when the defibrillator implanted in your chest detects a sudden change in heartbeat, an arrhythmia, and delivers a high-voltage shock to return the heart to a normal pace? “It’s like being punched in the chest, kicked by a horse, hit by a baseball bat – those are the metaphors people commonly use,” said Dr. Daniel Kramer, a fellow in cardiac electrophysiology at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center in Boston. “There’s nothing gentle about it.”

Boy’s Cardiac Death Led to Misuse of Genetic Test, Study Says

Misuse of a genetic test as well as an incorrect interpretation of the findings resulted in the misdiagnoses, which led to the boy’s brother being implanted with a defibrillator he didn’t need. The device has since unnecessarily shocked his heart twice, researchers said.

Defibrillators Are Lifesaver, but Risks Give Pause

Defibrillators have undoubtedly saved the lives of tens of thousands of Americans. That is why insurers still typically pay for the devices and the surgical procedure to implant them, which can top $50,000 for each patient. What makes many doctors and patients increasingly wary, though, is a string of highly publicized recalls in recent years, along with mounting evidence suggesting that a vast majority of people who get a defibrillator never need it.

Devices that May Interfere with ICDs and Pacemakers

Several types of devices and machinery may interfere with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) and pacemakers. The electromagnetic waves generated by such devices can keep your ICD or pacemaker from functioning properly. Try to avoid them, or at least minimize your exposure to them.

Many Defibrillators Implanted Unnecessarily, Study Says

The new findings fit into a larger pattern of misuse of defibrillators: paradoxically, previous research has also found that many people who need defibrillators do not get them. The reasons are not known, but may include the cost and also a reluctance by both doctors and patients to accept a surgically implanted device, especially if the patient is feeling fine and has no symptoms of the underlying problem.

What heart patients want ICD makers to know

Here is a sampling of the responses – so listen up, titans of the medical device industry and all those who implant these devices into our bodies...