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Cardiac Implantable Electric Devices: Indications and Complications

  • Heart Failure (F Peacock and L Zhang, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Emergency and Hospital Medicine Reports Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Purpose of Review

As the evidence base for cardiac implantable electric devices (CIED), which include pacemakers, defibrillators, and devices with both functionalities, continues to expand, so does the rate of usage in patients with chronic heart failure (CHF), atrial fibrillation (AF), or both. Given that no medical intervention is ever free from complications and unintended consequences, it is expected that patients will present to the Emergency Department (ED) for unscheduled, acute care secondary to CIED complications. In this article, we will examine first the indications for CIED placement in patients with chronic cardiac disease. Then, management of various common device-related complications and pathologies will be discussed.

Recent Findings

Indications for CIED continue to expand and be refined. With substantial monitoring, patients with certain CIED may undergo MRI; however, the risk-benefit ratio should be examined closely on an individual occurrence level.

Summary

Understanding the indications, the complications, and how CIED affect diagnostic options is crucial to providing optimum care for these patients.

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  1. Department of Emergency Medicine, Wake Forest University Health Sciences, Winston-Salem, NC, USA

    Brian Hiestand

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Correspondence to Brian Hiestand.

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Hiestand, B. Cardiac Implantable Electric Devices: Indications and Complications. Curr Emerg Hosp Med Rep 5, 56–63 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40138-017-0128-3

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