Use of electrical pacing and automatic cardioversion defibrillation for normal cardiac function recovery

Area of Science:

• Cardiology
• Biomedical Engineering

Background:

• Ventricular tachycardia (VT) and fibrillation (VF) are life-threatening arrhythmias.
• Acute myocardial infarction, coronary artery disease, and long QT syndrome increase arrhythmia risk.
• Current treatments include antitachycardia pacing and cardioversion.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the efficacy of antitachycardia pacing and low-energy cardioversion in terminating VT and VF.
• To assess the preventive effect on extrasystoles in high-risk patients.
• To investigate the effectiveness of a Soviet prototype implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICAR-D) for automatic arrhythmia detection and treatment.

Main Methods:

• Utilized antitachycardia pacing and low-energy cardioversion in patients.
• Employed low-energy automatic defibrillation in 25 patients intraoperatively and postoperatively.
• Tested the ICAR-D prototype in 10 dogs over 4-6 months in chronic experiments.
• ICAR-D delivers 2.5-4 J for VT and 15-20 J for VF.

Main Results:

• Antitachycardia pacing and low-energy cardioversion successfully terminated VT and VF episodes.
• These interventions also prevented extrasystoles in patients with specific cardiac conditions.
• The ICAR-D prototype demonstrated automatic arrhythmia detection and selective electrical impulse delivery.

Conclusions:

• Antitachycardia pacing and low-energy cardioversion are effective in managing VT and VF.
• The ICAR-D prototype shows potential as an automatic defibrillation device for preventing and treating cardiac arrhythmias.
• Further studies are warranted to confirm long-term efficacy and safety.