Cognitive impairment after appropriate implantable cardioverter-defibrillator therapy for ventricular fibrillation

Abstract

Short periods of out-of-hospital VF converted by ICD are associated with cognitive impairment in the recipients of primary prevention ICD.

European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)/Heart Rhythm Society (HRS)/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS)/Latin American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS) expert consensus on arrhythmias and cognitive function: what is the best practice?

“…159 Another study in 115 ICD patients observed that cognitive function in memory was poor at baseline and decreased over 12 months post-ICD implantation. 160 In a small Polish study of 51 patients with primary prevention ICDs, seven patients who received ICD shocks for ventricular fibrillation scored worse in neuropsychological measurements compared with patients without such shocks, suggesting greater cognitive impairment, 161 which could be multifactorial. However, further studies are needed to demonstrate whether shock or prevention of ventricular fibrillation will prevent decline in cognitive function.…”

European Heart Rhythm Association (EHRA)/Heart Rhythm Society (HRS)/Asia Pacific Heart Rhythm Society (APHRS)/Latin American Heart Rhythm Society (LAHRS) expert consensus on arrhythmias and cognitive function: What is the best practice?

“…Neuropsychological outcomes were sought at 3 months in a small study of 23 patients who underwent ablation with post‐procedure diffusion‐weighted MRI cranial imaging. New cranial lesions were detected in three (14%) patients and one patient suffered a clinical stroke . Residual cognitive defects were noted at 3 months with neuropsychological testing, in particular, in verbal memory (one of five cognitive domains); deterioration was observed in 56.5% of ablation patients compared with 17.4% of controls …”

“…Another study in 115 ICD patients observed that cognitive function in memory was poor at baseline and decreased over 12 months post‐ICD implantation . In a small Polish study of 51 patients with primary prevention ICDs, seven patients who received ICD shocks for ventricular fibrillation scored worse in neuropsychological measurements compared with patients without such shocks, suggesting greater cognitive impairment, which could be multifactorial. However, further studies are needed to demonstrate whether shock or prevention of ventricular fibrillation will prevent decline in cognitive function.…”

“…New cranial lesions were detected in three (14%) patients and one patient suffered a clinical stroke. 161 Residual cognitive defects were noted at 3 months with neuropsychological testing, in particular, in verbal memory (one of five cognitive domains); deterioration was observed in 56.5% of ablation patients compared with 17.4% of controls. 178 6.5 | Implications for electrophysiological procedures and cognitive function…”

Cognitive performance in patients with implantable cardioverter defibrillators: Associations with objective sleep duration, age and anxiety

“…Up to 67% of patients with ICDs experience disturbed sleep (Berg, Higgins, Reilly, Langberg, & Dunbar, ; Habibović et al., ) and ICD use has also been associated with increased anxiety (Bilge et al., ; Pedersen et al., ; Sears, Hauf, Kirian, Hazelton, & Conti, ; Sola & Bostwick, ). Research also shows that patients with ICDs experience self‐reported cognitive disturbance (Kamphuis et al., ), as well as objective cognitive deficits across a wide range of tasks (Hałas et al., ), which is exacerbated with increasing age (Hałas et al., ). However, the effects of disturbed sleep and anxiety on cognitive functioning in ICD patients have not been established.…”