An inappropriately-appropriate ICD therapy: What is the mechanism and what interventions can be done?

Key clinical message: R-wave double counting is a rare cause of ventricular oversensing that can lead to inappropriate shocks. Optimizing device programming is essential for the avoidance of subsequent inappropriate therapies.

Abstract: R-wave double counting is a rare cause of ventricular oversensing that can lead to inappropriate shocks. We present the case of a female patient, 52-years-old with a history of end-stage hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. The patient suffered an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) shock. Cardiac device interrogation revealed ventricular tachycardia (VT) with a cycle length of 420 ms that was misclassified in the ventricular fibrillation (VF) zone owing to R-wave double counting. Optimizing device programming is essential for the avoidance of subsequent inappropriate therapies. Possible therapeutic options are briefly presented in the case.