Can implantable cardioverter defibrillator cause AFib?

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Implantable defibrillators are implanted to terminate an episode of atrial arrhythmia. AFib (atrial fibrillation) is also a type of atrial arrhythmia. The ICD (implantable cardioverter defibrillator) not only provides treatment for atrial arrhythmias but also for ventricular arrhythmias and rate-responsive dual-chamber pacing for the treatment of bradycardia.

Pacing attempts to gain control over the arrhythmia by interrupting the pathway of the atrial arrhythmia and using low-energy pacing, which usually goes unnoticed by the patient.

In cases when ATP (anti-tachycardia pacing) is successful, the patient may not even be aware that they have had an arrhythmia until their device follow-up. So, the answer to your question is that ICD cannot cause atrial fibrillation until and unless it is implanted incorrectly; instead, it will automatically terminate an episode of atrial fibrillation.

I hope this helps.

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Thank you.