© 1999 by European Society of Cardiology
CASE REPORT
Multiple hardware complications in a patient with an ICD
The Hospital of the Westfälische Wilhelms-University, Department of Cardiology & Angiology and Institute for Arteriosclerosis Research, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universtät Münster, Germany;
*Department for Cardiovascular Surgery, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universtät Münster, Germany;
Department for Anaesthesia, Westfälische Wilhelms-Universtät Münster, Germany
Hardware-related complications in implantable cardioverter/defibrillators (ICD) are still a common problem. Identifying underlying reasons becomes more and more difficult as the complexity of ICD systems increases. We report a patient with a dual chamber ICD (DDD-ICD) who suffered multiple complications. These included: ventricular oversensing causing inappropriate shocks and episodes of asystole; an insulation defect resulting in ineffective shocks as a consequence of a short circuit between the active can device and a defective high voltage cable; and device dysfunction requiring several hospitalizations and operative system revisions.
Key Words: ICD dysfunction, hardware complications, short circuit
Correspondence: Rainer Gradaus, MD, Medizinische Klinik und Poliklinik, Innere Medizin C (Kardiologie und Angiologie) Westfälische Wilhelms-Universität Münster, D-48129 Münster, Germany.
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