Implantable Cardiac Defibrillator

The heart has an internal electrical system that controls the rhythm of the heartbeat. When the heart is beating too fast, too slow, or irregularly (a condition known as arrhythmia), a battery-powered device called an implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) may be placed in the body, and it delivers an electrical charge in the chest to restore a normal heart rhythm. An ICD contains wires that run either to the surface of the heart or inside it, and usually it can be implanted without the need for open-chest surgery. For a patient to be considered for an ICD, the arrhythmia typically must be life-threatening, and doctors first must rule out other possible causes of the abnormal heart rhythm, including heart attack, poor blood flow to the heart, an electrolyte imbalance, and drug toxicity.

Why UAB

UAB Heart & Vascular Services delivers optimal patient care for heart rhythm disorders. You will be cared for by regional and world leaders in the treatment of heart arrhythmias such as atrial fibrillation, atrial flutter, ventricular tachycardia, Wolff-Parkinson-White syndrome, atrioventricular re-entrant tachycardia, and other heart rhythm abnormalities.

Our physicians evaluate the newest treatments and technologies and author professional publications that advance the field of arrhythmia treatment. Their extensive experience and academic backgrounds ensure that they are familiar with all types of heart rhythm disorders. Our academic medical center performs more than 600 heart rhythm-related procedures each year, and our success in treating all types of complex arrhythmias is well-documented. Our electrophysiologists have access to the UAB Heart and Vascular Center, one of the largest of its kind in the Southeast. It features the most advanced technology available, including four procedural suites dedicated to electrophysiology (the electrical signals in the heart). At UAB Medicine you are part of a program that carries out pioneering work in atrial fibrillation and advanced pacemaker and cardioverter defibrillator design.

Images and Videos

Take a video tour of the UAB Heart & Vascular Clinic at Acton Road.

Understand the risk factors and symptoms of heart arrhythmias, and when it is important for you to see a doctor.

PHYSICIANS

William Randolph Maddox

Tom McElderry, MD

Vance J. Plumb, MD

Takumi Yamada, MD

Related Conditions

Listed below are some conditions that may be related to or share some similarities with the condition addressed on this page.

Ventricular Fibrillation

Ventricular Tachycardia

RELATED SERVICES

Pacemaker

CLINICAL TRIALS

UAB is an active participant in research and clinical trials for Cardiac Defibrillator. We encourage you to speak to your physician about research and clinical trial options and browse the link below for more information on clinical trials at clinicaltrials.gov.

View Clinical Trials