Europace : European pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac electrophysiology : journal of the working groups on cardiac pacing, arrhythmias, and cardiac cellular electrophysiology of the European Society of Cardiology
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Comparative Study
A 12-month quality of life assessment of cardiac arrest survivors treated with or without an implantable cardioverter defibrillator.
Previous studies indicate that the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) has a large impact on the quality of life of patients. The effects of having an ICD over longer periods of times has been less studied. ⋯ The prevalence of anxiety and probable depression was high in cardiac arrest survivors. Probable depression affected social function. Those patients who felt anxious experienced less health improvement. Quality of life and well-being were not affected by the type of treatment. We conclude that surviving an out-of-hospital cardiac arrest has a greater impact on patients than the treatment received.