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 Medical Abbreviation: A Closer Look at ICD
An ICD is an electronic device that monitors a patient’s heart rhythm and delivers shocks if dangerous rhythms are detected. ICD’s are used to treat patients whose lower heart chambers either beat too quickly (tachycardia) or quiver ineffectively (fibrillation). Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators are also indicated for patients with medical histories of heart attack, heart failure or who have had a poor response to drug therapy intended to treat abnormal heart rhythms.
Abbreviation |
Meaning |
ICD |
Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator |
The ICD accomplishes its intended tasks by first monitoring heart rhythms, identifying abnormal heart rhythms and then determines the appropriate therapy to return the heartbeat to a normal heart rhythm. There are four different functions that the ICD can be programmed to do. Practitioners can program the ICD to perform any of the following functions:
- Anti-tachycardia Pacing(ATP) – The patient’s heart tends to beat too fast so the ICD is programmed to deliver a series of small electrical pulses in order to restore the heart to a normal rate and rhythm.
- Cardioversion – The patient’s heart rate is abnormally fast or in an abnormal rhythm. The ICD delivers a low energy dose of electrical current to the heart at the same time as the heartbeat in order to restore the heart to a normal rate and rhythm.
- Defibrillation – When the patient’s heart is beating dangerously fast, the ICD is programmed to deliver a high-energy shock to the heart muscle to restore a normal rate and rhythm.
- Bradycardia pacing – The patient’s heart tends to beat too slow so the ICD is programmed to deliver small electrical impulses that are sent to stimulate the heart muscle to maintain a normal rate.
The patient may or may not be aware when their ICD detects and then corrects an abnormal rate or rhythm. When a patient does feel their heart rate or rhythm being corrected there are different sensations depending on the correction:
- Pacing – Typically they are not detectable but if detected they will feel like impulses.
- Cardioversion – The shock may feel like a thump to the patient on their chest.
- Defibrillation – At times these patients are unconscious so they do not feel the shock, however, if the patient is awake the shock will feel like a kick in the chest.
If you have a case that involves an ICD or the leads to an ICD, please call our office at Medical Jurisprudence, Inc to find out how our medical legal consulting can make a difference for you on your case load.
References:
Food and Drug Adminstration. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. Retrieved from www.fda.gov/hearthealth/treatments/
medicaldevices/icd.html
Cleveland Clinic. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD). Retrieved from www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter
American Heart Association. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator. Retrieved from www.americanheart.org
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