Inappropriate shocks delivered by an ICD as a result of sensed potentials from a transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation unit.
Although the potential for transcutaneous electronic nerve stimulation (TENS) units to interfere with appropriate function of cardiac pacemakers is well documented, an adverse interaction between a TENS unit and an ICD has never been reported. We describe a patient in whom a TENS unit created an electrical artifact that was interpreted by a transvenous ICD as ventricular fibrillation, leading to the delivery of inappropriate therapy. TENS units should be used with caution in patients with ICDs.
Philbin
D M
DM
Section of Cardiovascular Medicine, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut 06511, USA.
Marieb
M A
MA
Aithal
K H
KH
Schoenfeld
M H
MH
D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable; D004562:Electrocardiography; D004868:Equipment Failure; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D017180:Tachycardia, Ventricular / Q000628:therapy; D004561:Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000295:instrumentation; D014693:Ventricular Fibrillation / Q000175:diagnosis