Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Observational Study
. 2016 Aug 30;134(9):635-43.
doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.115.019124. Epub 2016 Jul 25.

Experience With the Wearable Cardioverter-Defibrillator in Patients at High Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death

Nadine K Wäßnig  1 , Michael Günther  2 , Silvio Quick  2 , Christian Pfluecke  2 , Fabian Rottstädt  2 , Steven J Szymkiewicz  2 , Steven Ringquist  2 , Ruth H Strasser  2 , Uwe Speiser  2
Affiliations
Observational Study

Experience With the Wearable Cardioverter-Defibrillator in Patients at High Risk for Sudden Cardiac Death

Nadine K Wäßnig et al. Circulation. .

Abstract

Background: This study evaluated the wearable cardioverter-defibrillator (WCD) for use and effectiveness in preventing sudden death caused by ventricular tachyarrhythmia or fibrillation.

Methods: From April 2010 through October 2013, 6043 German WCD patients (median age, 57 years; male, 78.5%) were recruited from 404 German centers. Deidentified German patient data were used for a retrospective, nonrandomized analysis.

Results: Ninety-four patients (1.6%) were treated by the WCD in response to ventricular tachyarrhythmia/fibrillation. The incidence rate was 8.4 (95% confidence interval, 6.8-10.2) per 100 patient-years. Patients with implantable cardioverter-defibrillator explantation had an incidence rate of 19.3 (95% confidence interval, 12.2-29.0) per 100 patient-years. In contrast, an incidence rate of 8.2 (95% confidence interval, 6.4-10.3) was observed in the remaining cardiac diagnosis groups, including dilated cardiomyopathy, myocarditis, and ischemic and nonischemic cardiomyopathies. Among 120 shocked patients, 112 (93%) survived 24 hours after treatment, whereas asystole was observed in 2 patients (0.03%) with 1 resulting death.

Conclusions: This large cohort represents the first nationwide evaluation of WCD use in patients outside the US healthcare system and confirms the overall value of the WCD in German treatment pathways.

Keywords: arrhythmias, cardiac; death, sudden, cardiac; electric countershock; heart failure; myocarditis.

PubMed Disclaimer

Comment in

References

    1. Feldman AM, Klein H, Tchou P, Murali S, Hall WJ, Mancini D, Boehmer J, Harvey M, Heilman MS, Szymkiewicz SJ, Moss AJ WEARIT Investigators and Coordinators; BIROAD Investigators and Coordinators. Use of a wearable defibrillator in terminating tachyarrhythmias in patients at high risk for sudden death: results of the WEARIT/BIROAD. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2004;27:4–9. - PubMed
    1. Reek S, Geller JC, Meltendorf U, Wollbrueck A, Szymkiewicz SJ, Klein HU. Clinical efficacy of a wearable defibrillator in acutely terminating episodes of ventricular fibrillation using biphasic shocks. Pacing Clin Electrophysiol. 2003;26:2016–2022. - PubMed
    1. Moss AJ, Hall WJ, Cannom DS, Daubert JP, Higgins SL, Klein H, Levine JH, Saksena S, Waldo AL, Wilber D, Brown MW, Heo M. Improved survival with an implanted defibrillator in patients with coronary disease at high risk for ventricular arrhythmia: Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial Investigators. N Engl J Med. 1996;335:1933–1940. doi: 10.1056/NEJM199612263352601. - PubMed
    1. Moss AJ, Zareba W, Hall WJ, Klein H, Wilber DJ, Cannom DS, Daubert JP, Higgins SL, Brown MW, Andrews ML Multicenter Automatic Defibrillator Implantation Trial II Investigators. Prophylactic implantation of a defibrillator in patients with myocardial infarction and reduced ejection fraction. N Engl J Med. 2002;346:877–883. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa013474. - PubMed
    1. Bardy GH, Lee KL, Mark DB, Poole JE, Packer DL, Boineau R, Domanski M, Troutman C, Anderson J, Johnson G, McNulty SE, Clapp-Channing N, Davidson-Ray LD, Fraulo ES, Fishbein DP, Luceri RM, Ip JH Sudden Cardiac Death in Heart Failure Trial (SCD-HeFT) Investigators. Amiodarone or an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator for congestive heart failure. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:225–237. doi: 10.1056/NEJMoa043399. - PubMed

Publication types