• Heart rhythm disorders occur when the heart beats too quickly, too slowly, or in a chaotic manner. These disorders, which affect two million Americans,are caused by electrical problems in the heart and result in fatigue, fainting, dizziness and even sudden death.1

  • In addition, five million Americans suffer from congestive heart failure, which causes the main chambers of the heart to pump inefficiently and can cause the heart to beat in an unsynchronized manner, also referred to as ventricular fibrillation. The vast majority of the 335,000 sudden cardiac deaths that occur in the United States every year are believed to be caused by ventricular fibrillation.1

  • Heart failure is the main cause of hospital stays in the United States and will result in an estimated $30 billion in costs in 2006.1

  • The latest generation of ICDs is about 99 percent effective in stopping life-threatening arrhythmias. When implanted, these devices can prevent sudden cardiac death and reduce patient mortality rates to 20 percent – compared to the 60 percent chance of mortality associated with drug therapy. Without an ICD, a person's chance of surviving this type of cardiac episode is less than 5 percent.2

ICDs--Saving Lives and Improving Doctor and Hospital Efficiency

                                              Late 1980s/Early 1990s         2000s       

ICD Size

     209 cc3     36 cc4

Surgery   

     Thoracotomy--multiple
    incisions4		     Transvenous -- 1
    incision4

Hospital Stay

     21-28 days4     1-3 days5

Anesthesia   

     General4     Local4

Battery Life

     1.5 years4         Up to 9 years4

Perioperative
Mortality    

     9%4     <1%4

Total Implantation
Cost

     $70,290 -- $79,8505     $30,000 -- $40,0006
  • ICDs have also improved over time and now enable physicians to monitor patients remotely as well as providing other cardiac treatments such as cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT), which automatically re-coordinates the action of the right and left ventricles. Recent data show that lifetime treatment with CRT therapy is highly cost effective.7

  1. American Heart Association. “Heart Disease and Stroke Statistics-2006 Update.” Dallas, Texas: American Heart Association; 2006.Heart Rhythm Society. “Common Questions about ICDs.” http://hrspatients.org/patients/treatments/cardiac_defibrillators/common
    _questions.asp     (3 May 2006).

  2. Medtronic. “Overview and History of ICD Therapy.” http://www.medtronic.com/physician/tachy/history/Overview_ICD.ppt#596,2,What is ICD Therapy (26 April 2006).

  3. Heart Rhythm Society. “Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators in Cardiovascular Practice.” http://www.hrsonline.org/swPositionStatementFiles/ps101035020.asp (26 April 2006).

  4. The Cleveland Clinic. “Heart and Vascular Institute, Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD).” http://www.clevelandclinic.org/heartcenter/pub/guide/tests/procedures/icd.htm (26 April 2006).

  5. Estes M. “Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction: Evidence Based Medicine, Economics, And Guidelines.” http://www.medscape.com/viewprogram/5242_pnt(26 April 2006).
  6. Medtronic. “CARE-HF Sub Analyses.” American College of Cardiology Annual Scientific Session.; 2006.
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