ICD Fired Five Times

My wife had a PM/ICD implanted in May. Last Friday while visiting me in the Cleveland Clinic, her ICD fired five times. She was taken to the ER and diagnosed (again) with runs of v-tach.

My questions is what are the options for correcting the v-tach? CCF seems to be discussing radio frequency ablation.

Any info appreciated...

Blnmakerr

2 Comments

Oh my Goodness!

by pacergirl - 2007-09-30 10:09:30

My friend has had this problem but I don't quite know how he dealt with it. He is so much better now and the v-tach doesn't happen as often anymore. I will check with him and see what he says. You are not alone and we lend all the support we can here at the pacemaker club.

Personally, I have spinal adjustments 4 days a week and my heart has settled down considerably! If my nerves are being pressed upon by my misaligned spine then my heart reacts in a violent way. Just my thoughts.

Best of luck to you and your wife, pacergirl

V-Tach

by Bob Sr - 2007-09-30 11:09:57

The following may provide some info for you, or give you ideas for questions to ask the doctor.

Treatment of V-TAch

Treatment varies with the symptoms, the situation, and the underlying cardiac disorder. No treatment may be required in some cases.

Ventricular tachycardia may become an emergency situation and may be require CPR, electrical defibrillation or cardioversion (electric shock), or intravenous anti-arrhythmic medications (such as lidocaine, procainamide, bretylium, or sotalol).

Long-term treatment of ventricular tachycardia may require the use of oral anti-arrhythmic medications (such as procainamide, amiodarone, or sotalol). Anti-arrhythmic medications, however, may have severe side effects, and their use is currently decreasing in favor of other treatments.

Some ventricular tachycardias may show in the electrophysiologic study to be suitable for an ablation procedure. Radiofrequency catheter ablation is a curative treatment for selected tachycardias.

In recent years, a preferred treatment for many chronic (long-term) ventricular tachycardias consists of implanting a device called implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). The ICD is implanted usually in the chest, like a pacemaker, and it is connected to the heart with wires.

The ICD is programmed by the doctor to sense ventricular tachycardia when it is occurring, and to administer a shock to abort it. The ICD may also be programmed to send a rapid burst of paced beats to interrupt the ventricular tachycardia. The ventricular tachycardia may require also the use of concomitant anti-arrhythmic agents to prevent repeated firing of the ICD.

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