Subcutaneous ICD

This is a novel form of Implantable Defibrillator in which the wire – or lead – is not placed inside the heart butjust under the skin outside the ribcage. The ICD pulse generator is placed along the side of the body, not high on the chest like a standard transvenous system.

The subcutaneous ICD is a consideration in the young, highly active patient, hereditary disorders of the heart’s ion channels, certain heart muscle diseases (cardiomyopathies) or in patients with prior damage to the major veins in the upper chest.