Pacemaker Battery Replacement Causes Cardiac Arrest

Case Overview

This case involves a 61-year-old female with a past medical history of HTN, CAD, CHF, Afib with a status post biventricular ICD implant. The patient underwent a procedure to correct and replace an AICD battery due to pacemaker fuel-cell generator depletion. During the procedure, the patient experienced cardiac and respiratory distress that went unnoticed for a significant time period. When physicians finally uncovered that the patient was unresponsive, CPR was initiated and the patient was transferred to the ICU. The patient suffered from anoxic brain injury and died 3 weeks after the procedure.

Questions to the Electrical expert and their responses

Is this a known complication of this procedure and if so how often does it happen?

Adverse cardiac events may happen during any heart procedure no matter how minor, but this case seems like a few ominous signs went unnoticed for this patient to decompensate so quickly.

About the expert

This expert is a highly qualified cardiologist with over 30 years of experience. He has published and presented numerous articles and papers, and has pursued several major grant funded research endeavors. As the director of clinical cardiology for a large medical center, he is familiar with the clinical circumstances described in this case.