Implantable cardioverter/defibrillator (ICD) follow-up

Implantable cardio-verter-defibrillator (ICDs) therapy is a corner stone in the therapy of patients who are at high risk for ven-tricular arrhythmias. ICDs offer also the possibilty of antibradycardiac stimulation , can be combined with cardiac resynchronization therapy. Optimizia-tion of programming to prevent unnecessary shocks is essential in order to minimize morbidity and mortality and is recommended in current guidelines. Remote monitoring detects technical issues of the devices, as well as rhythm abnormalities or heart failure events and should be offered to the patients. Multisensor algorithms may detect early signs of worsening of heart failure. An optimized medical management and/or invasive measurements are mandatory.