What Is an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator?

An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a small device that's placed in your chest or abdomen. The device uses electrical pulses or shocks to help control life-threatening, irregular heartbeats, especially those that could cause sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

SCA is a condition in which the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. If the heart stops beating, blood stops flowing to the brain and other vital organs. This usually causes death if it's not treated in minutes.

Understanding the Heart's Electrical System

Your heart has its own internal electrical system that controls the rate and rhythm of your heartbeat. With each heartbeat, an electrical signal spreads from the top of your heart to the bottom. As the signal travels, it causes the heart to contract and pump blood.

Each electrical signal normally begins in a group of cells called the sinus node or sinoatrial (SA) node. As a signal spreads from the top of the heart to the bottom, it coordinates the timing of heart cell activity.

First, the heart’s two upper chambers, the atria (AY-tree-uh), contract. This contraction pumps blood into the heart’s two lower chambers, the ventricles (VEN-trih-kuls). The ventricles then contract and pump blood to the rest of the body. The combined contraction of the atria and ventricles is a heartbeat.

For more information on the heart’s electrical system and detailed animations, go to the Diseases and Conditions Index How the Heart Works article.

Overview

A problem with any part of the heart’s electrical system can cause irregular heartbeats called arrhythmias (ah-RITH-me-ahs). During an arrhythmia, the heart can beat too fast, too slow, or with an irregular rhythm. Faulty electrical signaling in the heart causes arrhythmias.

ICDs use electrical pulses or shocks to treat life-threatening arrhythmias that occur in the ventricles (the heart’s lower chambers).

When ventricular arrhythmias occur, the heart can't effectively pump blood. You can pass out within seconds and die within minutes if not treated. To prevent death, the condition must be treated right away with an electric shock to the heart. This treatment is called defibrillation (de-fib-ri-LA-shun).

An ICD has wires with electrodes on the ends that connect to your heart chambers. The ICD will continually monitor your heart rhythm. If the device detects an irregular rhythm in your ventricles, it will use low-energy electrical pulses to restore a normal rhythm.

If the low-energy pulses don’t restore your normal heart rhythm, or if your ventricles start to quiver rather than contract strongly, the ICD will switch to high-energy electrical pulses for defibrillation. These pulses last only a fraction of a second, but they can be painful.

Doctors also treat arrhythmias with another device called a pacemaker. An ICD is similar to a pacemaker, but there are some differences.

Pacemakers can only give off low-energy electrical pulses. They’re often used to treat less dangerous heart rhythms, such as those that occur in the upper chambers of your heart. Most new ICDs can act as both pacemakers and defibrillators.

Comparison of an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator and a Pacemaker

The illustration compares an ICD and a pacemaker. Figure A shows the location and general size of an ICD in the upper chest. The wires with electrodes on the ends are inserted into the heart through a vein in the upper chest. Figure B shows the location and general size of a pacemaker in the upper chest. The wires with electrodes on the ends are inserted into the heart through a vein in the upper chest.

Patients who have heart failure may need a special device called a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device. The CRT device is able to pace both ventricles at the same time. This allows them to work together and do a better job pumping blood out of the heart. CRT devices that have a defibrillator are called CRT-D.

Who Needs an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator?

Implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are used in children, adolescents, and adults. Your doctor may recommend an ICD if you’re at risk for certain types of arrhythmia.

ICDs are used to treat life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias, such as those that cause the ventricles to beat too fast or quiver. You may be considered at high risk for a ventricular arrhythmia if you:

• Have had a ventricular arrhythmia before
• Have had a heart attack that has damaged your heart’s electrical system

ICDs often are recommended for people who have survived sudden cardiac arrest (SCA). People who have certain heart conditions that put them at high risk for SCA also may need ICDs.

For example, some people who have long QT syndrome, Brugada syndrome, or congenital heart disease may benefit from an ICD, even if they’ve never had ventricular arrhythmias before.

Some people who have heart failure may need a CRT-D device. This device combines a type of pacemaker called a cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) device with a defibrillator. CRT-D devices help both ventricles work together. This allows them to do a better job of pumping blood out of the heart.

Diagnostic Tests

Your doctor may recommend an ICD if he or she sees signs of a ventricular arrhythmia (or heart damage that would make one likely) on the following tests.

EKG (Electrocardiogram)

An EKG is a simple, painless test that detects and records the heart’s electrical activity. The test shows how fast the heart is beating and its rhythm (steady or irregular). An EKG also records the strength and timing of electrical signals as they pass through each part of the heart.

A standard EKG only records the heartbeat for a few seconds. It won’t detect arrhythmias that don’t happen during the test.

To diagnose arrhythmias that come and go, your doctor may have you wear a portable EKG monitor. The two most common types of portable EKGs are Holter and event monitors.

Holter and Event Monitors

A Holter monitor records the heart’s electrical activity for a full 24- or 48-hour period. You wear one while you do your normal daily activities. This allows the monitor to record your heart for a longer time than a standard EKG.

An event monitor is similar to a Holter monitor. You wear an event monitor while doing your normal activities. However, an event monitor only records your heart’s electrical activity at certain times while you’re wearing it.

You may wear an event monitor for 1 to 2 months, or as long as it takes to get a recording of your heart during symptoms.

Echocardiography

Echocardiography (echo) uses sound waves to create a moving picture of your heart. The test provides information about the size and shape of your heart and how well your heart chambers and valves are working.

Echo also can identify areas of poor blood flow to the heart, areas of heart muscle that aren't contracting normally, and injury to the heart muscle caused by poor blood flow.

Electrophysiology Study

For this test, a thin, flexible wire is passed through a vein in your groin (upper thigh) or arm to your heart. The wire records the heart’s electrical signals.

Your doctor uses the wire to electrically stimulate your heart. This allows him or her to see how your heart's electrical system responds. The electrical stimulation helps pinpoint where the heart's electrical system is damaged.

Stress Test

Some heart problems are easier to diagnose when your heart is working hard and beating fast.

During stress testing, you exercise (or are given medicine if you’re unable to exercise) to make your heart work hard and beat fast while heart tests, such as an EKG or echo, are done.

How Does an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Work?

An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) has wires with electrodes on the ends that connect to one or more of your heart's chambers. These wires carry the electrical signals from your heart to a computer in the ICD. The computer monitors your heart rhythm.

If the ICD detects an irregular rhythm, it sends low-energy electrical pulses to prompt your heart to beat at a normal rate. If the low-energy pulses restore your heart’s normal rhythm, you may avoid the high-energy pulses or shocks of the defibrillator (which can be painful).

Single-chamber ICDs have a wire that connects to either the right atrium or right ventricle. The wire senses electrical activity and corrects faulty electrical signaling within that chamber.

Dual-chamber ICDs have wires that connect to both an atrium and a ventricle. These ICDs provide low-energy pulses to either or both chambers. Some dual-chamber ICDs have three wires. They connect to an atrium and both ventricles.

The wires on an ICD connect to a small metal box implanted in your chest or abdomen. The box contains a battery, pulse generator, and computer. When the computer detects irregular heartbeats, it triggers the ICD's pulse generator to send electrical pulses. Wires carry these pulses to the heart.

The ICD also can record the heart's electrical activity and heart rhythms. The recordings can help your doctor fine-tune the programming of your ICD so it works better to correct irregular heartbeats.

The type of ICD you get is based on your heart's pumping abilities, structural defects, and the type of irregular heartbeats you've had. Whichever type of ICD you get, it will be programmed to respond to the type of irregular heartbeat you're most likely to have.

What To Expect During Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Surgery

Placing an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) requires minor surgery, which usually is done in a hospital. You’ll be given medicine right before the surgery that will help you relax and may make you fall asleep.

Your doctor will give you medicine to numb the area where he or she will put the ICD so you don’t feel any pain. Your doctor also may give you antibiotics to prevent infection.

First, your doctor will thread the ICD wires through a vein to the correct location in your heart. An x-ray "movie" of the wires as they pass through your vein and into your heart will help your doctor place them.

Once the wires are in place, your doctor will make a small cut into the skin of your chest or abdomen. He or she will then slip the ICD’s small metal box through the cut and just under your skin. The box contains the battery, pulse generator, and computer.

Once the ICD is in place, your doctor will test it. You’ll be given medicine to help you sleep during this testing so you don't feel any electrical pulses. Then your doctor will sew up the cut. The entire surgery takes a few hours.

What To Expect After Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Surgery

Expect to stay in the hospital 1 to 2 days so your health care team can check your heartbeat and make sure your implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is working properly.

You’ll need to arrange for a ride home from the hospital because you won’t be able to drive for at least a week while you recover from the surgery.

For a few days to weeks after the surgery, you may have pain, swelling, or tenderness in the area where your ICD was placed. The pain usually is mild, and over-the-counter medicines can help relieve it. Talk to your doctor before taking any pain medicines.

Your doctor may ask you to avoid vigorous activities and heavy lifting for about a month after ICD surgery. Most people return to their normal activities within a few days of having the surgery.

What Are the Risks of Having an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator?

Unnecessary Electrical Pulses

The most common problem with implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) is that they can sometimes give electrical pulses or shocks that aren't needed.

A damaged wire or a very fast heart rate due to extreme physical activity may trigger unnecessary pulses. Unnecessary pulses also may occur if you forget to take your medicines.

Children tend to be more physically active than adults, and younger people who have ICDs are more likely to receive unnecessary pulses than older people.

Pulses delivered too often or at the wrong time can damage the heart or trigger an irregular, sometimes dangerous heartbeat. They also can be painful and emotionally upsetting. If this occurs, your doctor can reprogram your ICD or prescribe medicines so the unnecessary pulses occur less often.

Risks Related to Surgery

Although rare, some ICD risks are linked to the surgery used to place the device. These risks include:

• Swelling, bruising, or infection at the area where the ICD was placed
• Bleeding from the site where the ICD was placed
• Blood vessel, heart, or nerve damage
• A collapsed lung
• A bad reaction to the medicine used to make you sleep during the surgery

Other Risks

People who have ICDs may be at increased risk for heart failure. Heart failure is when your heart can't pump enough blood to meet your body’s needs. It's not known for sure whether an ICD increases the risk of heart failure or whether heart failure is just more common in people who need ICDs.

Although rare, an ICD may not work properly. This will prevent the device from correcting irregular heartbeats. If this happens, your doctor may be able to reprogram the device. If that doesn't work, the ICD may need to be replaced.

The longer you have an ICD, the more likely it may be that you’ll experience some of the related risks.

How Will an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Affect My Lifestyle?

The low-energy electrical pulses your implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) gives aren’t painful. You may not notice them, or you may feel a fluttering in your chest.

The high-energy pulses or shocks your ICD gives last only a fraction of a second and feel like a thumping or painful kick in the chest, depending on their strength.

Your doctor may give you medicine to decrease the number of irregular heartbeats you have. This will reduce the number of high-energy pulses sent to your heart. Such medicines include amiodarone or sotalol and beta blockers.

Your doctor may want you to call his or her office or come in within 24 hours of getting a strong shock from your ICD. See your doctor or go to an emergency room right away if you get many strong shocks within a short time.

Devices That Can Disrupt Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Functions

Once you have an ICD, you have to avoid close or prolonged contact with electrical devices or devices that have strong magnetic fields. Devices that can interfere with an ICD include:

• Cell phones and MP3 players (for example, iPods)
• Household appliances, such as microwave ovens
• High-tension wires
• Metal detectors
• Industrial welders
• Electrical generators

These devices can disrupt the electrical signaling of your ICD and prevent it from working properly. You may not be able to tell whether your ICD has been affected.

How likely a device is to disrupt your ICD depends on how long you’re exposed to it and how close it is to your ICD.

To be on the safe side, some experts recommend not putting your cell phone or MP3 player in a shirt pocket over your ICD (if they’re turned on). You may want to hold your cell phone up to the ear that’s opposite the site where your ICD was implanted. If you strap your MP3 player to your arm while listening to it, put it on the arm that’s farther from your ICD.

You can still use household appliances, but avoid close and prolonged exposure, as it may interfere with your ICD.

You can walk through security system metal detectors at your normal pace. Someone can check you with a metal detector wand as long as it isn’t held for too long over your ICD site. You should avoid sitting or standing close to a security system metal detector. Notify airport screeners if you have an ICD.

Stay at least 2 feet away from industrial welders or electrical generators. Rarely, ICDs have caused inappropriate shocks during long, high-altitude flights.

Procedures That Can Disrupt Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator Functions

Some medical procedures can disrupt your ICD. These procedures include:

• Magnetic resonance imaging, or MRI
• Shock-wave lithotripsy to treat kidney stones
• Electrocauterization to stop bleeding during surgery

Let all of your doctors, dentists, and medical technicians know that you have an ICD. Your doctor can give you a card that states what kind of ICD you have. Carry this card in your wallet. You may want to consider wearing a medical ID bracelet or necklace that explains that you have an ICD.

Maintaining Daily Activities

Physical Activity

In most cases, having an ICD won’t limit you from taking part in sports and exercise, including strenuous activities.

You may need to avoid full-contact sports, such as football. Such contact could damage your ICD or shake loose the wires in your heart. Ask your doctor how much and what kinds of physical activity are safe for you.

Driving

You’ll be asked to avoid driving for at least a week while you recover from ICD surgery. If you’ve had sudden cardiac arrest, a ventricular arrhythmia, or certain symptoms of a ventricular arrhythmia (such as fainting), your doctor may ask you not to drive until you have gone 6 months without fainting. Some people may still faint even with an ICD.

Commercial driving isn’t permitted with an ICD.

Ongoing Care

Your doctor will want to check your ICD regularly. Over time, your ICD may stop working properly because:

• Its wires get dislodged or broken
• Its battery fails
• Your heart disease progresses
• Other devices have disrupted its electrical signaling

To check your ICD, your doctor may ask you to come in for an office visit several times a year. Some ICD functions can be checked remotely through a telephone call or a computer connection to the Internet.

Your doctor also may recommend an EKG (electrocardiogram) to check for changes in your heart’s electrical activity.

Battery Replacement

ICD batteries last between 5 and 7 years. Your doctor will replace the generator along with the battery before the battery begins to run down.

Replacing the generator/battery is less involved surgery than the original surgery to implant the ICD. The wires of your ICD also may need to be replaced eventually. Your doctor can tell you whether you need to replace your ICD or its wires.

What Are the Benefits of Having an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator?

An ICD is very effective at detecting and stopping certain life-threatening arrhythmias. An ICD can work better than drug therapy at preventing sudden cardiac arrest, depending on the cause of the arrest.

Although an ICD can't cure heart disease, it can lower the risk of dying by up to 50 percent in some patients who have heart disease.

Key Points

• An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) is a small device that's placed in your chest or abdomen. This device uses electrical pulses or shocks to help control life-threatening arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats).
• An ICD has wires with electrodes that connect to one or more of your heart's chambers. The ICD will continually monitor your heart rhythm. If the device detects an abnormal heart rhythm, it will use low- or high-energy electrical pulses to restore a normal rhythm.
• An ICD isn't the same as a pacemaker. A pacemaker can only give low-energy electrical pulses to correct certain irregular heartbeats. An ICD can give the high-energy electrical pulses needed to correct dangerous arrhythmias in the heart’s lower chambers, the ventricles.
• Your doctor may recommend an ICD if you’re at risk for a ventricular arrhythmia or if he or she sees signs of a ventricular arrhythmia (or heart damage that would make one likely) on test results. He or she also may recommend an ICD if you survive sudden cardiac arrest or are at high risk for the condition.
• Surgery to place an ICD usually takes a few hours. After this minor surgery, you may have mild pain; over-the-counter pain medicines usually can relieve it. Talk to your doctor before taking any pain medicine.
• The most common problem with ICDs is that they can sometimes give electrical pulses that aren't needed. Doctors can reprogram ICDs or prescribe medicines so the electrical pulses occur less often. Other, rare risks are linked to the ICD surgery, such as infection and bleeding.
• The low-energy electrical pulses your ICD gives off aren't painful. You may not notice them, or you may feel a fluttering in your chest.
• The high-energy pulses or shocks your ICD gives only last a fraction of a second and feel like a thumping or painful kick in the chest, depending on their strength. Your doctor may give you medicine to decrease the number of arrhythmias you have. This may reduce the number of high-energy pulses sent to your heart.
• Once you have an ICD, you have to avoid close or prolonged contact with electrical devices or devices that have strong magnetic fields. You also need to avoid medical procedures that can disrupt your ICD. Let all of your doctors, dentists, and medical technicians know that you have an ICD.
• Your doctor may ask you to avoid vigorous exercise and heavy lifting for a short time after your surgery. After you’ve fully recovered from surgery, discuss with your doctor how much and what kinds of physical activity are safe for you.
• Have your ICD checked regularly. Some ICD functions can be checked remotely through a telephone call or computer connection to the Internet. Your doctor may ask you to come to his or her office to check your ICD.
• ICD batteries have to be replaced every 5 to 7 years. The wires of your ICD also may have to be replaced eventually. You doctor can tell you whether you need to replace your ICD or its wires.

Links to Other Information About Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators

NHLBI Resources

• Arrhythmia (Diseases and Conditions Index)
• How the Heart Works (Diseases and Conditions Index)
• Pacemaker (Diseases and Conditions Index)
• Sudden Cardiac Arrest (Diseases and Conditions Index)

Non-NHLBI Resources

• Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators (MedlinePlus)

Clinical Trials

• Current Research (ClinicalTrials.gov)
• NHLBI Pediatric Clinical Trials