Implantable cardioverter defibrillators: a guide for clinicians.
More than 30,000 patients in the United States have implanted devices that cardiovert, shock, or pace their hearts during a dangerous ventricular arrhythmia. This number grows daily as these devices are increasingly able to provide effective treatment for dangerous ventricular arrhythmias. In the past 5 years, the technology surrounding these devices has grown dramatically, going from a single "shock box" made by one vendor to a sophisticated group of devices with multiprogrammable functions. Clinicians who provide care to these patients must be able to understand the purpose of the device and validate its function. A guide to each of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator systems and to the various therapies available in each is presented.
Davidson
T
T
University of Michigan Hospitals, Ann Arbor 48109.
VanRiper
S
S
Harper
P
P
Wenk
A
A
D002304:Cardiac Pacing, Artificial; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000145:classification*; D004554:Electric Countershock / Q000295:instrumentation* / Q000451:nursing; D004867:Equipment Design; D006801:Humans; D010353:Patient Education as Topic; D011182:Postoperative Care; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000628:therapy