Implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients had a comparable quality of life to pacemaker recipients, though they showed more fear of death (P=0.056) and concerns about returning to work (P=0.072).
Cross-Sectional (n=125)
Does an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) worsen quality of life or psychiatric distress compared to a pacemaker in patients requiring implantable cardiac devices?
ICD patients have comparable quality of life and psychiatric distress levels to pacemaker recipients, supporting the expansion of ICD indications without undue concern for psychological harm.
AIMS: Studies indicate a poorer quality of life (QoL) for implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) patients than for the general population. However, studies comparing the QoL of ICD patients with that of patients with other implantable cardiac devices are scarce. We hypothesized that ICD patients had a poorer QoL than pacemaker patients. METHODS AND RESULTS: All ICD patients living in Iceland at the beginning of 2002 (44 subjects), and a comparison group of 81 randomly selected patients with pacemakers were invited to participate. The Icelandic Quality of Life Questionnaire (IQL), the General Health Questionnaire (GHQ), the Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) were submitted to measure QoL, psychiatric distress, and symptoms of anxiety and depression. The ICD and pacemaker groups did not differ on IQL, BAI, BDI, or GHQ scores. ICD patients were as a group more fearful of death (P = 0.056) and showed more concerns about returning to work (P = 0.072), although these items fell just short of statistical significance. CONCLUSION: Contrary to our expectations, ICD patients had a comparable QoL with pacemaker recipients and were not more likely to suffer from anxiety, depression, or general psychiatric distress. These findings are encouraging in view of expanding ICD indications.
Leósdóttir et al. (Tue,) conducted a cross-sectional in Implantable cardiac devices (n=125). Implantable cardioverter defibrillator vs. Pacemaker was evaluated on Quality of life, psychiatric distress, anxiety, and depression scores (IQL, GHQ, BAI, BDI). Implantable cardioverter defibrillator patients had a comparable quality of life to pacemaker recipients, though they showed more fear of death (P=0.056) and concerns about returning to work (P=0.072).