A follow-up on the LifeVest…and decision quality

One of the most controversial posts I have ever written concerned Zoll corporation’s wearable cardiac defibrillator, which they have smartly branded the LifeVest. Here is the link to the 2013 post: LifeVest: A Precarious and Unproven Bridge . . . to Somewhere The less-than-glowing assessment brought me a great deal of criticism, both publicly and privately. I was proud of theHeart.org, which is now Medscape/ Cardiology, for publishing the piece without editing. I bring this topic up again because of an email I received this week. It came from a patient who had been prescribed a LifeVest. Here is the email, which I post with permission: I read your story about the Zoll Lifevest. I am currently wearing one due to having a 100% blockage and a stent put in and being told by the cardiologist that I was at risk for SCA. The thing is, this vest vibrates and goes off if I move around and quite frankly scares the hell out of me that it will shock me for no reason. I have been doing cardiac rehab and the heart monitors they have me on show no strange rhythms. I have always been an active person and anytime I wear this contraption, I tend to do less due to being afraid of having another alarm or beeping going off. I expressed this fear with my cardiologist and was told to contact Zoll about it, and they are no help. When I was discharged, I was not told that it was 100% necessary but was told of the risks and asked if I would agree to wear it. I have worn it for 30 days and am sup...
Source: Dr John M - Category: Cardiology Authors: Source Type: blogs