The Challenges of Living With an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator: A Qualitative Study.
BACKGROUND
Dysrhythmia is one of the most common causes of sudden cardiac death worldwide. An implantable cardioverter defibrillator is the most effective method of treatment for dysrhythmias causing cardiac arrest. However, living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator is associated with challenges such as fear, anxiety, and depression.


OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to identify the challenges of living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.


METHODS
In this qualitative study, an interpretive phenomenological approach was used, with thirteen participants (seven men and six women) between the ages of 21 and 70 years old (mean = 58.15, SD = 14.4). The duration of having an implantable cardioverter defibrillator was 1 - 120 months (mean = 23.15, SD = 33.31). Maximum variation sampling was used to purposefully select the participants from the governmental Imam Khomeini hospital in Tehran, Iran, between May and October of 2013. Semi-structured interviews were conducted for 30 to 45 minutes, and Van Manen's six-step method was used in this study.


RESULTS
The challenges of living with an implantable cardioverter defibrillator include: living with fear, concerns about the future, concerns about device malfunction, fearing death during the shock, pain due to the shock, loss of control, the cost of the device, and the lifestyle limitations.


CONCLUSIONS
Patients who live with implantable cardioverter defibrillators face many concerns and challenges. Therefore, the role of nurses in teaching patients before and after implementation is very important.
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, IR Iran.
Mohammad
M
Abbasi
Nursing and Midwifery Care Research Center, School of Nursing and Midwifery, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, IR Iran.
Reza
R
Negarandeh
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Shahed University, Tehran, IR Iran.
Reza
R
Norouzadeh
School of Nursing and Midwifery, Qom University of Medical Sciences, Qom, IR Iran.
Amir Reza
AR
Shojae Mogadam
Challenge; Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator; Phenomenology