A defibrillator implant is a small device surgically implanted in the chest to maintain the heart’s electric rhythm. The surgery is very common: over 130,000 Americans receive a defibrillator implant every year.
If you or a loved one requires a defibrillator implant, you’ll undoubtedly have many questions—questions that can’t always be adequately explained in a forty-five minute doctor’s appointment. Clinical cardiac electrophysiology specialist Jeffrey L. Williams, MD, MS, FACC, FHRS, provides a complete, easy-to-understand guide to defibrillator implantation.
The author of What Is a Pacemaker?, Dr. Williams begins with an explanation of how defibrillators work and the conditions they treat. Williams then discusses how doctors determine whether patients are good candidates for defibrillators and provides an overview of the implantation process. Potential complications both before and after defibrillator implantation are discussed, as is surgical recovery and follow-up treatment. For readers having difficulty with medical terminology, Dr. Williams offers a helpful glossary at the back of the book.
Patients, caregivers, and family members alike will benefit from Dr. Williams’s straightforward explanations. If you’re a candidate for defibrillator implantation, this book can help you approach surgery with a full understanding of the procedure and what it means to your quality of life.
Dr. Williams gives all his defibrillator patients copies of What is a Defibrillator? but it is available for purchase at Amazon.
Contents include:
1. Basics of the Heart Anatomy and Conduction System
Blood flow through the heart
Electrical conduction system of the heart
Coronary arteries
Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
2. Basics of Heart Failure and Sudden Death
What is congestive heart failure?
What causes heart failure?
Know your ejection fraction!
What is ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia?
Is there a difference between atrial fibrillation and ventricular fibrillation?
3. Reasons for Defibrillator Implantation
Introduction
Survival benefits of defibrillators
Disease states at risk for sudden cardiac death (Writing Committee 2008) Miscellaneous reasons for defibrillator implantation
Before you get a defibrillator implantation
Summary
4. What are Defibrillators and How Do They Work?
Location of a transvenous defibrillator implantation
Location of a subcutaneous defibrillator implantation
What are the elements of a defibrillator?
Defibrillator to help treat heart-failure patients
How are defibrillators programmed?
How does a defibrillator stop a life-threatening arrhythmia?
Are defibrillator shocks painful?
When should I have the pacing features of my defibrillator turned on?
Miscellaneous reasons for pacing support of defibrillator patients
5. Preoperative Workup and Evaluation (Meeting the Implanting Physician)
Introduction
History of present illness (HPI)
Past medical and surgical history (PMH)
Social history
Allergies
Family history
Physical exam (including vital signs)
Pertinent studies
Preoperative risk assessment
Infection
Use of contrast agents during defibrillator implantation
Thyroid issues
6. The Implant Procedure
Registration and check-in
Informed-consent process
The procedure room
The implant procedure
What happens if my doctor could not successfully place a left-ventricular lead?
Immediately post implant
Day after the implantation
What is defibrillator-threshold testing (DFT)?
7. Possible Complications of Device Implantation
Introduction
Complications that can occur prior to going home
Complications that usually occur within thirty days of implant
Complications that usually occur more than one month after implant
8. Postoperative Care (The First Month)
Care of the incision (showering/bathing)
Activity limitations
Driving
The first follow-up appointment after the defibrillator implantation
Lifestyle considerations
Can handheld electronics interfere with your defibrillator?
9. Long-Term Care and Follow-Up
Follow-up
Defibrillator function
Patient monitoring features of defibrillators
Incision care
Battery/Lead life
Traveling
Can a defibrillator worsen heart failure?
What should I do if the defibrillator shocks me (or my loved one)?
Long-term psychosocial effects of defibrillators
Do defibrillators keep extremely elderly patients alive and prevent natural death?
10. Psychosocial Impact of Defibrillators
Adjustment to life after defibrillator implantation
Quality of life in defibrillator patients
How does defibrillator implantation affect your life partner?
How do defibrillator shocks affect the patient?
What are phantom shocks?
Why is a shock plan important?
Defibrillators in children and young adults
Long-term acceptance of the defibrillator
11. What are Device Recalls/Advisories/Alerts?
12. Conclusion
Heart Rhythm Center 