ics‘ promise pacing and cardioversion by light.pdf

part of 1 ISSN 1479-6678 .89 ? 2014 Future Medicine Ltd Future Cardiol. (2014) 10(1), 1–4 Electronic device therapy: the current gold standard in cardiac arrhythmia management Electronic device therapy (., implantable pacemakers and cardioverter–defibrillators [ICDs]) is currently the gold standard in the management of cardiac arrhythmias. According to the most recent survey by the World Society of Arrhythmias, over 1million pacemakers and 300,000 ICDs were implanted in 61 countries worldwide in 2009 [1]. All countries surveyed showed significant increases in implantation rates since 2005, and the global market for cardiac rhythm management devices is expected to reach US$ billion by 2017. Cardiac pacemakers and ICDs are relatively safe and reliable, as evidenced by significant decreases in device mal - function rates since the early 1980s. However, limited battery life requires device replacements (with potential sur - plications) every 4–7 years [2] . Another major drawback of ICDs, in particular, is the pain associated with the high-energy shocks required to terminate tachyarrhythmias. The fort is caused by the shocks’ nonspecific effects; for example, unintended contractions of noncardiac tissue (chest muscles, dia - phragm and vocal cords). As a result, ICD recipients tend to have higher incidences of anxiety and depre