Q. Can an implantable defibrillator kill you?
Doctor Answer is medically reviewed by SecondMedic medical review team.
The short answer is no—an implantable defibrillator (ICD) cannot kill you.
An ICD is an electronic device that monitors the rhythm of your heart, and if it detects a potentially life-threatening arrhythmia, such as ventricular fibrillation or tachycardia, it can deliver electrical shocks to restore a normal heart rhythm. ICDs are implanted in individuals who have a high risk of sudden cardiac arrest due to congenital heart disease, cardiomyopathy, inherited syndromes, or other conditions. In some cases they’re also used as a preventive measure in individuals at high risk for developing severe cardiac problems despite not having any current symptoms.
The purpose of an ICD is to save lives by restoring normal sinus rhythm when the heart beats out of control due to rapid or irregular rhythms caused by different types of arrhythmias—they’re meant to act like an internal shock paddles applied directly on the chest after sudden cardiac arrest has occurred and before full resuscitation can be completed with external shock paddles.
Although these devices are designed and implemented based on medical criteria intended to minimize potential side effects from shocks caused by ventricular tachycardia or fibrillation episodes that could cause death if left untreated, there are still small risks associated with having an ICD implanted internally in your body 24/7 such as lead dislodgment leading the generator needing re-implantation; battery depletion causing failure; electromagnetic interference from outside sources causing malfunction; mechanical issues causing disruption during implantation; infection at device site requiring removal and replacement or partial resectioning etc., affecting quality of life outcomes over time despite being very rare occurrences rates less than 1%.
In conclusion although implantable defibrillators cannot kill you they provide important protection against potentially fatal arrhythmias while carrying only small risks which make them invaluable assets for those with high risk coronary disease profiles whose positive response rate often outweighs these complications.
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