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Updated: May 8, 2026
A New Single Chamber Implantable Defibrillator with Atrial Sensing: A Practical Demonstration of Sensing and Ease of Implantation
Published on: February 28, 2012
[Evaluation of implanted cardioverter-defibrillators for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death]
Lie Liu1, Dongli Chen, Silin Chen
1Department of Cardiology, Guangdong Provincial Cardiovascular Institute, Guangzhou 510080, China.
Insights
Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) effectively prevent sudden cardiac death in high-risk patients. ICDs successfully treated ventricular arrhythmias, improving quality of life without complications.
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Electrophysiology
- Preventive Medicine
Context:
- Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a significant concern in patients with high-risk cardiac conditions.
- Primary prevention strategies are crucial to reduce SCD incidence.
- Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are a key therapeutic option for SCD prevention.
Purpose:
- To evaluate the clinical effectiveness of ICD implantation for the primary prevention of sudden cardiac death.
- To assess the safety and efficacy of ICDs in managing ventricular arrhythmias.
Summary:
- A study of 35 patients receiving ICD/CRT-D for primary SCD prevention showed significant benefits.
- 11 patients experienced ventricular arrhythmias, treated effectively by 16 defibrillation and 75 anti-tachycardia pacing therapies.
- No ICD implantation-related complications or syncope occurred; all patients reported improved quality of life.
Impact:
- ICD implantation is valuable for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in high-risk individuals.
- Demonstrates efficacy in preventing malignant ventricular arrhythmias, particularly in conditions like Brugada syndrome, non-ischemic cardiomyopathy, and polymorphic ventricular tachycardia.
- Highlights the role of ICDs in improving patient outcomes and quality of life.
Objective:
To evaluate the clinical effect of implanted cardioverter-defibrillators (ICD) for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death.
Methods:
According to ACC/AHA Guideline of ICD implantation (2005), 35 patients successfully received ICD/CRT-D implantation for primary prevention of sudden cardiac death in our hospital from January 2006 to December 2009. All the patients were followed up for a mean of 2 years.
Results:
During the follow up, 11 (31.43%) patients experienced ventricular arrhythmic episodes, for which 16 defibrillation therapies and 75 anti-tachycardia pacing (ATP) therapies were delivered without mistaken shock or death. The incidence rate of NVM was 100%, that of PVT was 66.67%, Brugada syndrome 50%, HCM 25% and DCM 16.67%. Of these episodes, the incidence of VF episodes among PVC patients was 87.5% (14 beats), ventricular tachycardia PVC was 82.28% (65 times), 5 beats in NVM patients, 4 beats in HCM and Brugada syndrome patients, and 1 beat in DCM patients. No ICD implantation-related complication was detected, and no ventricular tachycardia induced syncope occurred in these cases. All patients showed improved quality of life after the implantation.
Conclusion:
ICD implantation can prevent malignant ventricular arrhythmia episodes, especially for PVT, NVM and Brugada syndrome in high risk SCD patients, demonstrating the value of implantation of ICD as a primary prevention in high-risk SCD patients.
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