What is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator?

Life saver: An implantable cardioverter defibrillator (icd) system has leads (wires) that are inserted through the veins under the collarbone and threaded to the heart. The leads are attached to a box that goes under the skin. The box has a computer that continuously monitors the signals from your heart for a dangerous arrhythmia. If this occurs, the icd stops the arrhythmia by delivering an internal shock.

ICD: Icds are implanted to monitor the electrical activity of very abnormal hearts to see if a life threatening rhythm occurs. If it detects one of these rhythms, it will charge its capacitor and fire a shock to defibrillate the heart back to stable rhythm. In appropriate patients these devices save lives.