title: Automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator in electroconvulsive therapy.
abstract: As the number of patients with implantable cardiac devices increases so too does the frequency with which these individuals present for electroconvulsive therapy (ECT). The rationale for deactivating an automatic implantable cardioverter defibrillator before ECT has been made based on the concern that artifacts generated during treatment could be interpreted as a treatable rhythm by the internal device, resulting in a discharge. We believe that the risk of inappropriate discharge during ECT is very low and outweighed by the considerable benefit of an active device being able to more quickly treat a malignant dysrhythmia.
authors.affiliation: From the Departments of *Anesthesiology, and †Psychiatry, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, NY.
authors.forename: Ethan O
authors.initials: EO
authors.lastname: Bryson
authors.forename: Dennis M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Popeo
authors.forename: Mimi C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Briggs
authors.forename: Rosa M
authors.initials: RM
authors.lastname: Pasculli
authors.forename: Charles H
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Kellner
mesh_terms: D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001145:Arrhythmias, Cardiac / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D017147:Defibrillators, Implantable / Q000009:adverse effects*; D061218:Depressive Disorder, Treatment-Resistant / Q000150:complications / Q000628:therapy*; D004565:Electroconvulsive Therapy / Q000379:methods*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans