title: Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy With and Without Defibrillator in a Commercial Truck Driver with Ischemic Cardiomyopathy and New York Heart Association Class III Heart Failure.
abstract: Commercial drivers warrant tighter restrictions to their driving privileges than private drivers. Patients with cardiac disease who are at risk of consciousness-impairing arrhythmias are not allowed to drive commercially. Patients with left ventricular systolic dysfunction and/or heart failure symptoms are permanently disqualified from commercial driving. A biventricular pacemaker without defibrillator can improve symptoms and mortality in selected patients with heart failure. Biventricular pacing may have antiarrhythmic effects that may reduce the added benefit of a defibrillator. Motor vehicle collisions resulting from arrhythmic events are infrequent. The interests of public safety must outweigh individual liberties when driving safety is in question.
authors.affiliation: Heart and Vascular Institute, Department of Cardiology, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Scaife Hall, Suite B-571.3, 200 Lothrop Street, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
authors.forename: Jacob C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Jentzer
authors.affiliation: 2317 Stone Crest Way, St George, UT 84790, USA.
authors.forename: John H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Jentzer