This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Spanish PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Related articles  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • JAMA Patient Page  • Arrhythmias  • Cardiovascular Intervention  • Pacemakers/ Defibrillators  • Alert me on articles by topic

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Persons who have cardiac arrhythmias (abnormal heart rhythms) may need an electrical impulse to help restore a normal heart rhythm, particularly if the abnormal rhythm is ventricular fibrillation or ventricular tachycardia (rapid but ineffective contractions of the main heart muscle). This can be done from outside the chest (usually in an emergency situation) using defibrillator paddles that deliver an electrical impulse or by an automated external defibrillator (AED), a device now available in many public buildings and airports that can detect and correct dangerous arrhythmias. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) allow for automated detection of arrhythmias. Automated treatment also occurs, either by delivery of a high-energy electric shock to the heart muscle (called defibrillation or cardioversion) or by a low-energy signal (cardiac pacing) to correct the abnormal rhythm. The April 26, 2006, issue of JAMA includes several articles about ICDs.

REASONS FOR ICD PLACEMENT

• Serious arrhythmias not controlled by . . . [Full Text of this Article]

RELATED ARTICLES

Pacemaker and ICD Generator Malfunctions: Analysis of Food and Drug Administration Annual Reports
William H. Maisel, Megan Moynahan, Bram D. Zuckerman, Thomas P. Gross, Oscar H. Tovar, Donna-Bea Tillman, and Daniel B. Schultz
JAMA. 2006;295(16):1901-1906.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Complications Associated With Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillator Replacement in Response to Device Advisories
Paul A. Gould, Andrew D. Krahn, and for the Canadian Heart Rhythm Society Working Group on Device Advisories
JAMA. 2006;295(16):1907-1911.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pacemaker and ICD Generator Reliability: Meta-analysis of Device Registries
William H. Maisel
JAMA. 2006;295(16):1929-1934.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

Pacemaker and ICD Malfunction—An Incomplete Picture
Bruce L. Wilkoff
JAMA. 2006;295(16):1944-1946.
EXTRACT | FULL TEXT