Sudden Cardiac Arrest & CONTAK RENEWAL 2 H155

BREAKING NEWS: 10.15.07--Medtronic, Inc., the world's largest maker of electronic heart devices, announced they are suspending sales of Sprint Fidelis leads. According to the FDA, these wires, used to connect defibrillators to the heart, may break or erode and may increase chance of injury. Learn more about the Medtronic Sprint Fidelis Recall.

Sudden cardiac arrest is the primary cause of death in the industrialized nations. Implantable defibrillators like the Guidant CONTAK RENEWAL 2 H155, are intended to save your life in the event of sudden cardiac arrest. When they fail, your life may be at risk. 

Sudden cardiac arrest kills approximately 98% of the 300,000 people effected each year in the United States. The majority of these deaths are due to ventricular fibrillation, with many more from ischaemic heart disease. During ventricular fibrillation cardiac output drops to nothing and unless stopped quickly the victim will generally die within minutes.

Ventricular fibrillation has been described as "chaotic asynchronous fractionated activity of the heart." Another definition is that ventricular fibrillation is a "turbulent, disorganised electrical activity of the heart in such a way that the recorded electrocardiographic deflections continuously change in shape, magnitude and direction."

Ventricular fibrillation most frequently occurs within diseased hearts, and in the vast most cases, it is a manifestation of underlying ischaemic heart disease. Ventricular fibrillation is also seen in those with cardiomyopathy, myocarditis and other heart pathologies.

It is also notable that ventricular fibrillation occurs where there is no discernible heart pathology, the so-called idiopathic ventricular fibrillation. Idiopathic ventricular fibrillation occurs with a reputed incidence of about 1% of all cases of out-of-hospital arrest, as well as 3-9% of the cases of ventricular fibrillation unrelated to myocardial infarction and 14% of all ventricular fibrillation resuscitations in patients under the age of 40.

It follows then that on the basis of the fact that ventricular fibrillation itself is common, then idiopathic ventricular fibrillation accounts for an appreciable mortality. Recently described syndromes such as the Brugada Syndrome may give clues to the underlying mechanism of ventricular arrhythmias. In the Brugada syndrome, changes may be found in the resting ECG with evidence of RBBB and ST elevation in the V1-V3 chest leads with an underlying propensity to sudden cardiac death.

The relevance of this is that theories of the underlying pathophysiology and electrophysiology must account for the occurrence of fibrillation in the so-called "healthy" heart. To be sure, there are mechanisms at work which we do not fully understand. Investigators are exploring new techniques of detecting and understanding the underlying mechanisms of sudden cardiac death in these patients without pathological evidence of underlying heart disease.

If you had an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator such as the recalled Guidant:

1. CONTAK RENEWAL 2, Model H155

2. CONTAK RENEWAL, Model H135, or

3. PRIZM 2 DR, Model 1861

An experienced attroney can help you right now!

Defibrillators are intended to save your life, not put it at greater risk. Fill out the simple form below to contact an experienced defibrillator lawyer before your time limit to file suit runs out.

Weitz & Luxenberg is no longer accepting Guidant Defibrillator cases.

see also:

Characteristics Guidant Injury? Characteristics of Ventricular Fibrillation
Guidant: Characteristics of the Ventricular Fibrillation Waveform

Electrophysiology Find out more about the Electrophysiology of Guidant Defibrillators
Electrophysiology of Guidant Defibrillators

Learn More Dangerous Recalled PRIZM 2 DR, Model 1861
Legal help for men and women with the dangerous PRIZM defibrillator