When an ICD is EOL. When to replace?

A friend of a friend is very upset because he has been told his defibrillator is near its end of service.  His understanding is that because of insurance issues, it has to quit, be dead, be totally out o power, before it can be replaced. All he has been told is to call the doctor's office when it buzzes and it will be replaced immediately. Middle of the night? Yes, call. On a weekend? Yes, call.

His fear, of course, is that he will need it between the time it buzzes and he gets to the doctor. And with a dead defibrillator, he will be out of luck.

That doesn't sound right to me. I think he must have misunderstood, but I don't know. I don't have a defibrillator, and I'm years away from EOL issues with my pacer. I said I would ask here.

Can anyone who does know about defibrillators give me an understanding of the protocol usually followed as ICDs reach replacement time?

2 Comments

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by The real Patch - 2017-09-22 16:54:11

It's likely your friend is confusing ERI and EOL. ERI is Elective Replacement Indicator and generally you have upward of 3 months left. Many insurers, especially Medicare will not pay for replacement at that point unless you are pacemaker dependent. EOL is End of Life and it does not stop at that time, you still have some time just doctors like to get it done as quickly as possible. By the way it's the same for pacemakers, ICDs and CRTs.

No reason to panic

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by Gotrhythm - 2017-09-23 12:59:26

Thank you for sharing your knowledge and experience. As always, you have not merely answered my question but also given me insight into what the answer means in terms of living with a device.

We  know how much the Pacemaker Club has assisted us, but we probably couldn't guess how wide our our sphere of influence really spreads, and how many other people are helped.

I'll copy your replies, stripped of identifiers, and send them to my friend. I"m sure her friend, we'll call him Jack, will be much reassured.

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