ICD detecting a heart attack

Will my Medtronic ICD (model DDMB1D4) detect a heart attack and will it show in the records of an interrogation?  We're refering to a heart attack caused by blockage of an artery.


3 Comments

ICD detecting a heart attack

by TAC - 2021-03-20 11:13:24

Pacemakers are designed to detect abnormal heart rhythms only. A pacemaker does not perform like an EKG, which could detect myocardial ischemia or a heart attack.

Heart attack

by AgentX86 - 2021-03-20 13:55:15

Maybe. It might show some evidence of a heart attack (damaged muscle, perhaps) but it can't show directly evidence of one. As noted by TAC, pacemakers only know about some of the electrical conditions of the heart (and report less) but a heart attack is a physical failure.

The plumbing/electrician simile again.. An electrician may (or not) know about a leaky pipe because it shorts out a circuit. He really only knows the circuit is out but by his knowledge and experience tells him that the circuit is in the bathroom, there's a reasonable chance that it's a plumbing problem,  worth, at least, further investigation.

Heart attack

by TAC - 2021-03-21 17:27:20

In case of a heart attack, the PM would only pick up abnormal rhythms caused by the heart attack, but only after the fact. Do not rely on PMs to get warnings about impending heart attacks. That’s not their function.

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