What does an ICD do? An ICD constantly monitors your heart to identify abnormalities of its rhythm that could cause you to collapse or die suddenly. If one of rhythms occurs the ICD will recognise it and either: pace your heart very quickly to interrupt the abnormal rhythm or deliver a shock to your heart to put the rhythm back to normal. Whilst the shock only lasts for a split second, some people describe the shock as being very unpleasant or painful, similar to a in the “kick chest”. However, receiving a shock can also be reassuring, by showing that your ICD is working and preventing sudden death. If your heart beats abnormally slowly your ICD may also work as a pacemaker to keep your heart beating at the correct rate. Some people have an ICD that is combined with cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT-D), which may help to improve the efficiency of the heart’s pumping action. A member of your ICD team will be able to explain which type of ICD you have. The pacemaker function, resynchronisation function and defibrillator function can be adjusted independently of each other. This will usually be done by a cardiac physiologist, using a similar programmer to the one used for routine checks on your ICD in the clinic. Why would an ICD be deactivated? In the future you may decide that you no longer wish to receive treatment from your ICD, particularly shock treatment. It is possible that your health may deteriorate and the focus of your care will be on your comfort rather than trying to prolong your life. For some people this may be due, for example, to progression of advanced heart disease or lung disease, or for others it may be due to development of a new problem such as advanced cancer or a severe stroke. When someone’s health deteriorates in one of these ways they usually want to make sure that the last stages of their life are as comfortable as possible. If a person has an ICD and is at or nearing the end of their life there is a risk that they will receive shocks from their ICD, in
What does an ICD do? An ICD constantly monitors your heart to identify abnormalities of its rhythm that could cause you to collapse or die suddenly. If one of rhythms occurs the ICD will recognise it and either: pace your heart very quickly to interrupt the abnormal rhythm or deliver a shock to your heart to put the rhythm back to normal. Whilst the shock only lasts for a split second, some people describe the shock as being very unpleasant or painful, similar to a “kick in the chest”. However, receiving a shock can also be reassuring, by showing that your ICD is working and preventing sudden death. If your heart beats abnormally slowly your ICD may also work as a pacemaker to keep your heart beating at the correct rate. Some people have an ICD that is combined with cardiac resynchronisation therapy (CRT-D), which may help to improve the efficiency of the heart’s pumping action. A member of your ICD team will be able to explain which type of ICD you have. The pacemaker function, resynchronisation function and defibrillator function can be adjusted independently of each other. This will usually be done by a cardiac physiologist, using a similar programmer to the one used for routine checks on your ICD in the clinic. Why would an ICD be deactivated? In the future you may decide that you no longer wish to receive treatment from your ICD, particularly shock treatment. It is possible that your health may deteriorate and the focus of your care will be on your comfort rather than trying to prolong your life. For some people this may be due, for example, to progression of advanced heart disease or lung disease, or for others it may be due to development of a new problem such as advanced cancer or a severe stroke. When someone’s health deteriorates in one of these ways they usually want to make sure that the last stages of their life are as comfortable as possible. If a person has an ICD and is at or nearing the end of their life there is a risk that they will receive shocks from their ICD, in