Published on September 08, 2009
Cardiac Defibrillator Implant - Live Webcast from the Dean & St. Mary's Cardiac Center
On Wed., Sept. 30, at 5 p.m., the Dean & St. Mary's Cardiac Center will give viewers the opportunity to see a live webcast of a patient receiving an Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD).
Broadcast live from the new Cardiac Catheterization Lab at St. Mary's Hospital in Madison, Wisconsin, a team of cardiologists from Dean Clinic will guide you through the procedure. Jeffrey A. Kushner, MD, will perform the implant while John Phelan, MD, and Kartik Reddy, MD narrate and answer viewers' questions during the one-hour program.
An ICD is an electronic device, much like a pacemaker, that provides a constant monitoring of heart rhythm and rate. When a person has abnormal heart rhythms or rapid heartbeats (arrhythmias), the ICD will detect the problem, and deliver energy to the heart muscle causing it to return to a normal rhythm. This reduces the risk of death if that person were to experience cardiac arrest.
The small, pager-sized device is placed under the skin of the upper chest. Normally, there are two wires that run from the ICD through veins and directly to the heart. An ICD is often recommended for people who have a history of coronary artery disease or a weakened heart, enlarged or thickened heart muscle, or heart defects that cause abnormal cardiac rhythm.
Access this live Internet broadcast via the webcasts channel on the homepage of the St. Mary's Hospital website.
