REVIEW  MANAGEMENT OF CARDIAC ARRHYTHMIAS 

Minerva Cardioangiologica 2018 February;66(1):83-99

DOI: 10.23736/S0026-4725.17.04468-1

Copyright © 2017 EDIZIONI MINERVA MEDICA

language: English

Prevention of sudden cardiac death: from wearable to subcutaneous cardioverter defibrillator

Stefano VIANI ✉, Ezio SOLDATI, Andrea DI CORI, Luca SEGRETI, Luca PAPERINI, Raffaele DE LUCIA, Giulio ZUCCHELLI, Maria G. BONGIORNI

Unit of Cardiology, Department of Cardiothoracic and Vascular Surgery, University Hospital of Pisa, Pisa, Italy

The implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is today an indisputable evidence-based treatment for cardiac sudden death both in primary and secondary prevention. However many clinical conditions that would represent an indication to ICD implantation, according to guidelines, may be potentially reversible or may be accompanied by temporary contraindications to the implant. Moreover transvenous cardioverter defibrillator implantation still carries a not negligible risk of complications both acutely and at follow-up. The Wearable Cardioverter Defibrillator and the Subcutaneous Defibrillator are two recently developed technologies that can potentially overcome the aforementioned limitations of traditional transvenous ICDs. This review will discuss the main aspects of these 2 technologies, the data coming from clinical experiences and future perspectives.

KEY WORDS: Defibrillators, implantable - Death, sudden, cardiac - Preventive health services