If I get a shock
- by kickstart88
- 2020-07-23 20:25:26
- ICDs
- 328 views
- 1 comments
Curious to know...will I pass out or be dead before the ICD shock happens? What if I'm driving or swimming?
1 Comments

Curious to know...will I pass out or be dead before the ICD shock happens? What if I'm driving or swimming?
Probably not
by AgentX86 - 2020-07-23 21:56:34
While it's possible that it would shock you after your heart stops, it's designed to fire well before that. The ICD detects a serious arrhythmia, one that has the possibility of killing you, and it shocks you back into a normal rhythm. Actually, it stops the heart and allows it to restart in a normal rhythm.
Such an arrhythmia while your swimming or driving (or at the top of a flight of stairs) would not be good, with or without an ICD. An ICD gives you a better chance of surving, which is why you have it.