When Is It Safe Not to Reimplant an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator at the Time of Battery Depletion?

Sana M Al-Khatib; Daniel J Friedman; Gillian D Sanders

doi:10.1016/j.ccep.2017.11.014

When Is It Safe Not to Reimplant an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator at the Time of Battery Depletion?

Card Electrophysiol Clin. 2018 Mar;10(1):137-144. doi: 10.1016/j.ccep.2017.11.014.

Authors

Sana M Al-Khatib¹, Daniel J Friedman², Gillian D Sanders²

Affiliations

¹ Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, 2400 Pratt Street, Durham, NC 27705, USA. Electronic address: [email protected].
² Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University Medical Center, 2400 Pratt Street, Durham, NC 27705, USA.

Abstract

The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a life-saving therapy in various patient populations. Although data on the outcomes of initial ICD implants are abundant, data on ICD replacements, especially in patients with improved left ventricular (LV) function, are scarce. Therefore, it is not known when it is safe to not replace an ICD that has reached the end of battery life. This article reviews data on patients with primary prevention ICDs who have improvement in left ventricular ejection fraction during follow-up and provides some guidance, based on the available evidence, related to circumstances when replacement of an ICD may be forgone.

Keywords: Cardiac resynchronization therapy; Implantable cardioverter defibrillator; Left ventricular ejection fraction recovery; Sudden cardiac death.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Review

MeSH terms

Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy / standards*
Death, Sudden, Cardiac / prevention & control*
Defibrillators, Implantable*
Electric Power Supplies*
Heart Failure / therapy*
Humans
Primary Prevention / methods*
Risk Factors

Grants and funding

T32 HL069749/HL/NHLBI NIH HHS/United States