GREENVILLE, NC--Shocks from an implantable defibrillator (ICD) are quick and can be life-saving, but can also hurt patients' quality of life and peace of mind for months afterward, whether delivered appropriately or inappropriately, suggests a large international cohort study.
Objectively measured decreases in quality of life both 1 and 3 months after an ICD shock appeared related to reduced accelerometer-measured physical activity and worse general-anxiety and shock-anxiety scores in the 2770-patient analysis of the PainFree SST study. The analysis appeared December 24, 2017 in Heart Rhythm with lead author Dr. Samuel F Sears (East Carolina University, Greenville, NC).
"Given the known associations between low levels of physical activity, psychological functioning, and adverse cardiac events, it is reasonable to assume that ICD patients who experience shock and a prolonged decline in physical activity may have an increased risk for hospitalization, morbidity, and mortality," the authors propose.
"Whether device activity could serve as a behavioral 'early warning' system to prevent adverse outcomes is unknown but potentially viable," they write.
Over a mean of 22 months, patients averaged 185 min/day of activity, with the devices calibrated to detect "walking at a slow pace" as activity, according to the report.
Overall, 289 patients experienced ICD shocks and 388 had arrhythmic episodes for which their devices delivered antitachycardia pacing (ATP).
Physical activity rose overall by a mean of 88.6 min/day within the first 3 months of implantation, but fell back by 15 min/day over the rest of follow-up. It dropped by 23.7 min/day right after an ICD shock and took about 3 months to return to preshock levels.
Physical activity also fell off after a delivery of ATP, but less precipitously.
Quality of life, as measured by the EuroQol 5D (EQ-5D) questionnaires for overall anxiety and self-assessed health status, showed variable changes after shocks. The EQ-5D health score deteriorated by about 3 points and there was significant worsening on the EQ-5D subscore for anxiety/depression, but not for mobility, self-care, activity level, or pain/discomfort subscores, the group reports. The overall health score had recovered 6 months after the shock.
Delivery of a shock, whether appropriately or inappropriately, was followed by worsening of shock anxiety, as measured by the Florida Shock Anxiety Scale (FSAS), "a 10-item validated, widely used measure of ICD-specific adjustment that assesses feared stimuli and avoidance behaviors," the authors note.
The FSAS score was elevated in every patient who experienced a shock, even 6 months or more after the shock.
The effects of shocks on activity levels and EQ-5D and FSAS scores in a given patient tended to be more pronounced with increasing number of shocks.
Appropriate shocks, compared to inappropriate shocks, were associated with similar reductions in activity level and a greater increase in FSAS shock anxiety.
EQ-5D health scores fell off significantly after appropriate shocks, but only nonsignificantly after inappropriate shocks.
Read journal abstract here.
SOURCE: ICD Shocks Hurt Quality of Life, Physical Activity Levels both Acutely and Long-Term - Medscape - Dec 28, 2017.