On January 13, 2022, for the first time in Podlasie Region, cardiologists from the University Cinical Hospital in Białystok implanted a patient with a subcutaneous cardioverter-defibrillator. It is an electronic "guardian angel" that will alert and intervene in the event of a life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia.
Until now, such devices have been introduced through veins. They were placed near the heart. In this new device, the entire system is located outside the heart - it is sewn into the intermuscular box. In Poland, about 600 such devices have already been implanted. It is already known that this method gives fewer complications.
- This method of treatment is recommended for patients with heart failure who are at risk of sudden death - explains dr Robert Sawicki, head of the Laboratory of Electrophysiology at the MUB Clinical Hospital in Białystok. - It is recommended for young patients, not burdened with other diseases. It is a heart monitoring system. When it decides that there is a dangerous arrhythmia that may stop the heart, it turns on the defibrillator. And it saves lives.
The first patient to receive this device was a 30-year-old man with cardiomyopathy.
The procedure takes about an hour. The patient must stay in the hospital for observation for about a day. A few weeks after the surgery, he will be able to return to work or other daily activities.
