defibrillator

[Clematis105]

is it normal to have to find the maker of your fitted defibrillator to find out what you can and cant do. we seem to be getting differing accounts as to what my partner can do with one fitted. he was told all sorts to get him to have it fitted and after it was fitted we have been told different. its currently causing him panic attacks because he doesnt know what to do

he was also told it was fitted for one reason and they could monitor his heart through it and and the device team say they cant and that it was fitted for a different reason.

[Marfanwarrior]

A card with the version number and type should have been issued when it was put in. An instruction booklet should also have been issued. Go back to the pacemaker fitter for the information you need as the advice you get needs to relate to the model you have been fitted with.

[normal2]

yes with your paperwork when you left the hospital there should be the make and model of your pacer.usually the plastic card you will receive on you first month check-up.

[Fortepiano]

Living with an ICD is really living a normal life - there's very few precautions you need to take , and they are basically to avoid possible rather than probable interactions. Your partner shouldn't be having panic attacks about his ICD. Perhaps he could phone the BHF helpline for reassurance.

You should have been given a leaflet from your hospital about his ICD and any precautions - all defibrillators are really the same.

Read the 'Living with an implantable defibrillator' page on the BHF website.

My husband had an ICD for 14 years. To us it meant freedom - the confidence to go to remote places like Greenland while feeling he was still protected. Having to be hand searched at airports was the only major precaution. In fact in those days the NHS would only give you an ICD if you'd survived a cardiac arrest, and we went to live in America for a year so he could get one! So to me it's great that they are so much more widely available now to people at risk.

[Clematis105 in reply to Fortepiano]

we were told by the doctor who pushed him into having it fitted that it was pretty much bomb proof, you can go in an mri machine you can use your phone over it, then minutes after it was fitted he was told that was all wrong, they gave him leaflets then told him none of them were relevant to his device as they are all outdated. pretty pissed off with the hospital for this

[Clematis105 in reply to Clematis105]

also my partners isnt a life saving device its a your life over when this goes off device, if it goes off it means his heart needs replacing which we have been told will be a miracle if there is a heart that matches due to his height

[Philippa_BHF]

Hi Clematis105,

I am sorry you and your partner are having these concerns regarding the ICD. I would echo Fortepiano's advice for either you or your partner to speak to one of the cardiac nurses on the heart helpline(0300-330-3311), but also to find out the reason for having it inserted. For some people it is seen as a protective mechanism, in case the heart goes into a dangerous heart rhythm, which is when it would deliver a small controlled electric shock. The aim of this is to restore his heart rhythm back to normal. For others has an extra component which helps the heart to beat more efficiently as well. If the heart muscle isn't working as well as it should and medication is perhaps not being as effective, this is a fairly common procedure to follow.

I would advise speaking to his cardiologist for some clarity and reassurance.

I hope I've helped.

Take care,

Philippa