An arrhythmia is any disorder of your heart rate or rhythm. It means that your heart beats too quickly, too slowly or with an irregular pattern. Most arrhythmias result from problems in the electrical system of the heart. If your arrhythmia is serious, you may need one of two devices implanted under your skin: a cardiac pacemaker or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD).
A pacemaker monitors the electrical impulses in the heart. When needed, it delivers electrical pulses to make the heart beat in a more normal rhythm. A pacemaker may be helpful when the heart beats too slowly or has other abnormal rhythms. An ICD is a device that monitors heart rhythms. If it senses dangerous rhythms, it delivers shocks. Many ICDs record the heart's electrical patterns when there is an abnormal heartbeat. This can help the doctor plan future treatment.
- Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/icd/icd_whatis.html
- Pacemaker(National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute) - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/dci/Diseases/pace/pace_whatis.html
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Pacemakers(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/pacemakers/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/pacemakersspanish/htm/index.htm
- Cardiac Pacemaker (Implanted)(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/hearthealth/treatments/medicaldevices/cardiacpacemakerimplanted.html
- Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD)(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/hearthealth/treatments/medicaldevices/icd.html
- Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators: Controlling a Chaotic Heart(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/implantable-cardioverter-defibrillator/HB00003/METHOD=print
- Pacemaker(Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research) - http://www.mayoclinic.com/print/pacemaker/MY00276/METHOD=print&DSECTION=all
- Defibrillators Don't Diminish Quality of Life(09/03/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68875.html
- U.S. Hospitals Underutilize Proven Heart Failure Therapy(08/11/2008, HealthDay) - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/news/fullstory_68019.html
- Managing Your Pacemaker(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=32
- Medtronic Recalls Sprint Fidelis Cardiac Leads(Food and Drug Administration) - http://www.fda.gov/consumer/updates/medtronic101507.html
- Patients Who Get ICDs for Prevention Have Less Driving Restrictions(American Heart Association) - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=3045242
- What Patients Should Know When There Is a Device Recall(Heart Rhythm Society) - Links to PDF - http://www.hrspatients.org/patients/device_recalls/defib%20recall.pdf
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Pacemakers(Patient Education Institute) - Requires Flash Player - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/tutorials/pacemakers/htm/index.htm
Also available in Spanish http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/spanish/tutorials/pacemakersspanish/htm/index.htm
- Biventricular Defibrillator Implantation(OR-Live) - Requires media player - One hour program - 02/27/2007 - http://www.or-live.com/distributors/NLM/rnh.cfm?id=406
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Defibrillators, Implantable(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=defibrillator
- ClinicalTrials.gov: Pacemaker, Artificial(National Institutes of Health) - http://clinicaltrials.gov/search/open/intervention=artificial+pacemaker
- Article: Device diagnostics for heart failure: identifying eligible patients. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18843830&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Contemporary pacemakers: what the primary care physician needs to know. - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18828980&tool=MedlinePlus
- Article: Atrial fibrillation in recipients of cardiac resynchronization therapy device: 1-year... - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=Retrieve&db=pubmed&dopt=AbstractPlus&list_uids=18760135&tool=MedlinePlus
- Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=pacemaker,artificial[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- Implantable defibrillators -- see more articles - http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?cmd=search&db=pubmed&term=defibrillators,implantable[majr]+AND+english[la]+AND+humans[mh]+AND+(jsubsetk[text]+OR+review[pt]+OR+guideline[pt]+OR+clinical+trial[pt]+OR+patient+education+handout[pt]+OR+jsubsetaim[text]+OR+jsubsetn[text])+NOT+(letter[pt]+OR+editorial[pt]+OR+case+reports[pt])&doptcmdl=summary&cmd_current=Limits&pmfilter_EDatLimit=last+1+Year&tool=MedlinePlus
- American Heart Association - http://www.americanheart.org/presenter.jhtml?identifier=1200000
- Heart Rhythm Society - http://www.hrspatients.org/
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
- Arrhythmia - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/arrhythmia.html
- Heart Failure - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/heartfailure.html
- Blood, Heart and Circulation - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/bloodheartandcirculation.html
The primary NIH organization for research on Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators is the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute - http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/
Pacemakers and Implantable Defibrillators - Multiple Languages - http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/languages/pacemakersandimplantabledefibrillators.html