Key result
ICDs represent 30 years of evolution into a proven, life-saving therapy for preventing SCD.
Why the study?
Implantable defibrillator therapy has undergone significant development over 30 years, originating from a pioneering concept to prevent sudden death.
This historical review highlights the 30-year development of implantable defibrillator therapy from its initial concept to a life-saving technology.
Traces ICD origins to one man's vision; leaves open how early concepts shape today's sudden-death prevention strategies.
The first concept of an implantable defibrillator was published in 1970 by Dr. Michel Mirowski and his colleague and friend Dr. Morton Mower. Within 30 years implantable defibrillator therapy has gone through a breathtaking development. However, it started with a vision and a concept of one man, who went through difficult times, personally, and in his intention to make his idea of a device that prevents sudden death come true. As with other innovative approaches in medicine, in the beginning there were more opponents than supporters of the concept. Device technology has impressively improved, but the principal concept remained the same: automatic shock delivery to a fibrillating heart by an implanted defibrillator will restore normal heart rhythm and save the life of the patient.
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Klein et al. (2010) conducted a review in Sudden cardiac death and ventricular arrhythmias. Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was evaluated. The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator has undergone 30 years of significant technological development, evolving from a conceptual vision into a proven, life-saving therapy for preventing sudden cardiac death.
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