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Q. Can implantable cardioverter defibrillator cause AFib?

Answered by
Dr. Rishu
and medically reviewed by iCliniq medical review team.
This is a premium question & answer published on Nov 18, 2016 and last reviewed on: Nov 07, 2020

Hello doctor,

I would like to know if an implantable cardioverter defibrillator can cause AFib. Please explain.

#

Hi,

Welcome to icliniq.com.

  • Implantable defibrillators are implanted to terminate an episode of atrial arrhythmia. AFib (atrial fibrillation) is also a type of atrial arrhythmia.
  • The ICD not only provides treatment for atrial arrhythmias, but also provides treatment for ventricular arrhythmias, as well as rate-responsive dual chamber pacing for the treatment of bradycardia.
  • The pacing attempts to gain control over the arrhythmia by interrupting the pathway of the atrial arrhythmia and uses low energy pacing, which is usually goes unnoticed by the patient.
  • In cases when ATP (antitachycardia pacing) is successful, the patient may not even be aware that they have had an arrhythmia, until their device follow-up.
  • So, the answer for your question is ICD cannot cause atrial fibrillation until and unless it is implanted incorrectly; rather it will terminate an episode of atrial fibrillation automatically.

For further information consult a cardiologist online --> https://www.icliniq.com/ask-a-doctor-online/cardiologist

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