The implantable cardioverter defibrillator: Indications and follow-up.

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION: Sudden cardiac death (SCD) is a public health problem. In most cases, it is the consequence of ventricular arrhythmias. The only treatment of proven effectiveness is the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). AIM: To describe indications for ICD implantation according to the underlying heart disease and report it's short and long-term results. METHODS: We report a retrospective and descriptive study involving 90 patients implanted with an ICD in our facility collected between January 2003 and December 2014. RESULTS: The average age of our population was 49 ± 15 years (14-76). A male predominance was noted (sex ratio 6). Ischemic heart disease was the most common underlying heart disease found in 37% of cases. The average left ventricular ejection fraction was 43.5 ± 17.7%. A slight predominance of primary prevention was noted in our series (52%). Single, dual and triple chamber ICD were used in respectively 34%, 36% and 30% of cases. The use of triple chamber ICD was more frequent in cardiomyopathies and ischemic heart disease. Early complications were observed in 9 patients (10%). No deaths directly related to the ICD implantation procedure was observed in our series. The mean follow-up was 39.7 months (3-136). We recorded 14 deaths. The main cause of death was refractory heart failure. During follow-up, 16 patients (18%) received appropriate ICD shocks. The only predictor of appropriate therapies was the indication of ICD for secondary prevention (p=0,002). Twenty one patients (23%) had complications inherent to the implantation of ICD. The main complication was inappropriate shocks found in 11 patients (12%). The main cause of these shocks was supraventricular arrhythmias 68%). Ischemic heart disease (p = 0.001) and secondary prevention (p = 0.048) were significantly associated with the occurrence of inappropriate ICD shocks. The ICD was explanted after varying delays in 4 patients (4.4%). CONCLUSION: The results of our study were comparable to major ICD studies and registries particularly in terms of procedural, late complications and the occurrence of appropriate ICD therapies.