heart dephibulator

Hi Jason,
I don't know. An cardiac defibrillator (ICD) usually needs replacement every 4-8 years, depending on how often the ICD discharges. An ICD is made to recognize a dangerous arrhythmia, deliver a "shock" and re-charge/fire as often as necessary till the rhythm returns to normal. ICDs are for people who have had an abnormal, fast heart rate that caused them to faint or caused their heart to stop pumping properly.

An ICD is used in patients at risk for

• Ventricular tachycardia,
• Ventricular fibrillation,
• Sudden cardiac death (SCD) caused by arrhythmia.

SCD is a common problem, and increasing numbers of patients are surviving a first episode of a life threatening ventricular arrhythmia. They have a high risk of further episodes that may be fatal. Patients who need an ICD  often have a diminished heart function (heart failure) and probably have a short life expectancy without an ICD. They often need blood thinners as well, to protect against a blood clot (thrombo embolism) migrating elsewhere and cause such a thing as a http://www.cardiachealth.org/stroke.

A major problem associated with ICD therapy is the occurrence of inappropriate shocks (up to 35% of delivered shocks!),not surprisingly affecting a patient's quality of life and causing depression and anxiety.

Dr T