Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators The state of the art

Implantable devices are now being routinely used for the treatment of patients with malignant ventricular tachyarrhythmias. This technology became an approved clinical therapy in the United States in 1985. The prototype implantable cardioverterdefibrillator ICD was developed in the 1970s and investigated in the 1980s. Since its approval in 1985 for general clinical application, ICDs are being increasingly used in patients with life-threatening ventricular tachyarrhythmias based upon a number of clinical trials undertaken in North America and western Europe.