An S-ICD is a battery-powered device designed to monitor and correct dangerous heart rhythms. Unlike traditional ICDs, which have wires that go into the heart through veins, an S-ICD is implanted under the skin or between muscle layers with a single lead that runs along the chest wall.
This device is used to prevent sudden cardiac death in people at risk of life-threatening arrhythmias, such as ventricular tachycardia or ventricular fibrillation. When it detects a dangerously fast rhythm, it delivers a shock to restore a normal heartbeat.
S-ICDs are especially useful for people who:
You will be monitored in recovery as the anaesthetic wears off. You will often go home the next day but you will need someone to drive you home.
You will also receive a device ID card and instructions for living with an S-ICD, including how to handle airport security and medical imaging.
Your cardiologist will make two or three small incisions—typically on the left side of your chest and near your breastbone. The pulse generator (battery) is placed under the skin near your rib cage, and the lead is tunnelled under the skin to the chest.
Using X-ray imaging, your doctor will position the lead and test the system by briefly inducing an abnormal rhythm and confirming the device responds correctly. Once everything is working, the incisions are closed with dissolving stitches.
