Cardiac defibrillator

Patent Pending An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) is a device combining a cardioverter and a defibrillator into one implantable unit. It is thus a small battery-powered electrical impulse generator that is implanted in patients who are at risk of sudden cardiac death due to ventricular fibrillation and ventricular tachycardia. The device is programmed to detect cardiac arrhythmia and correct it by delivering a brief electrical impulse to the heart. In current variants, the ability to revert ventricular fibrillation has been extended to include both atrial and ventricular arrhythmias. There also exists the ability to perform biventricular pacing in patients with congestive heart failure or bradycardia.