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I have an Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). It was installed just over two years ago, after I had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to ventricul
by KineticLensman 3y ago
I have an Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD). It was installed just over two years ago, after I had an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest due to ventricular fibrillation (this has a 1 in 5 survival rate, so I dodged a bullet there). I was lucky that I passed out in the lobby of a building that had a defibrillator; if I'd not been near one I'd be dead (or likely brain damaged).
It was implanted three days after the VF episode, and the doctor basically said "we don't know why the VF happened in your case, the ICD is your best option for staying alive in the future". The implantation procedure only involved a heavy local anaesthetic and wasn't unpleasant. Much, much less painful than the broken ribs from being CPR'd, which took a couple of months to heal. The ICD sits under the skin above below my left collar bone, and the shape is clearly visible. I ignore it on a day to day basis. Every year I go in for a device check and sometimes for a joke they make it buzz (like having a mobile phone on vibrate, under your skin). Hehe.
It's fired once, almost a year ago. I was on my own at the time, at home, and if it hadn't gone off, I'd be dead, again. So having it is a no-brainer, and I have never felt traumatised / horrified by it. What was / is harder to deal with is that every time it fires, I now face a two-year driving ban. I totally understand the reasoning here: when a VF episode happens I have perhaps 5 to 10 seconds of useful consciousness, some of which is spent feeling disoriented, and I know I'd be a danger if driving. But the lifestyle changes caused by loss of driving are more mentally challenging than the fact of the ICD itself.
- e40 3y agoAre you saying that even with the device, when it fires, you still feel disoriented?
- KineticLensman 3y agoThe VF causes disorientation as the brain is starved of oxygen. The device is set to fire after about 15 seconds, by which time I'm already unconscious, because it is pretty fucking painful.
- AndrewKemendo 3y agoI'm sorry you're having to deal with that. Mine isn't quite the same but I have had bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (Previously called "Grand Mal") and time traveling like that isn't ever fun.
- e40 3y agoDamn. Sorry to hear that! I am glad, though, you are still with us.
- Chris2048 3y agoStrange question: I know stories of people who dropped dead from their first heart attack. Would it be viable to install a ICD even without a history of heart problems? Like having you tonsils/appendix removed early. That would feel inline with the "cyborg" topic - proactive implants rather than reactive.
- jareklupinski 3y ago> Would it be viable to install a ICD even without a history of heart problems i think the reasonable alternative to this led to all the red Automated External Defibrillator stations around which is quite a social cyborg thing to do
- KineticLensman 3y agoProbably no. Lots of different sorts of 'heart attack'. My form of VF is basically due to an electrical fault, not due to blocked arteries / clagged up valves, etc. Implantation has some risks (infection, etc) and the device needs to be swapped out every few years when the battery dies. The device can only help if you have a 'shockable' rhythm. It doesn't restart a stopped heart, it causes the out-of-control muscle fibres in a fibrillating (quivering) heart to resynchronise so that you get proper pumping in the heart's chambers. Cost is obviously a factor as well.