Does the implantable cardioverter defibrillator directly cause poor psychosocial outcomes in patients with ventricular arrhythmias?
Poor psychosocial outcomes in ICD patients are likely driven by the underlying ventricular arrhythmia rather than the device itself, suggesting psychological interventions should target the arrhythmia experience.
These findings suggest that poor psychosocial outcome in ICD patients may occur as a result of variables associated with the underlying VA condition, rather than as a direct response to implantation of the device and its therapy. This holds important implications for the development and implementation of psychological interventions for patients experiencing VA, in preference to ICD-specific programmes.
Burke et al. (Thu,) studied this question.