Clinical predictors of defibrillation threshold in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators

Andrzej Lubiński; Ewa Lewicka-Nowak; Agnieszka Zienciuk; Tomasz Królak; Maciej Kempa; Anna Pazdyga; Grażyna Świątecka

Vol 62, No 4 (2005)

Other

Published online: 2005-12-12

Submitted: 2012-12-28

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Clinical predictors of defibrillation threshold in patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillators

Andrzej Lubiński, Ewa Lewicka-Nowak, Agnieszka Zienciuk, Tomasz Królak, Maciej Kempa, Anna Pazdyga, Grażyna Świątecka

Kardiol Pol 2005;62(4):323-328.

Vol 62, No 4 (2005)

Other

Published online: 2005-12-12

Submitted: 2012-12-28

Abstract

Background: Safety of patients with malignant ventricular arrhythmias, treated with implantable cardioverterdefibrillators (ICD), depends on the possibility of immediate and effective intracardiac defibrillation. It is especially important in those patients in whom there is a risk of increased defibrillation threshold (DFT) of ventricular fibrillation (VF). Thus, it is important to know whether some clinical parameters may predict a high DFT.
Aim: To assess the relationship between DFT and clinical, demographic and antropometric parameters, type and progression of underlying disease as well as antiarrhyhmic therapy used in ICD recipients.
Methods: The study group consisted of 168 patients (47 females, 121 males, mean age 55±15 years, range 15-82 years) who were selected to receive an ICD. DFT was systematically tested during ICD implantation in all patients. Various clinical, demographic, antropometric and echocardiographic parameters were analysed as the function of DFT value, examining their accuracy in predicting a high (≥15 J) or a low (