Wearable cardioverter defibrillator after cardiac surgery: Analysis of real‐life data from patients at transient risk of sudden cardiac death

BACKGROUND: Especially in the first 3 months after cardiac surgery, patients are at transient risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD). To close the gap between hospital discharge and the final implantable cardioverter‐defibrillator (ICD) decision, guidelines recommend temporarily using a wearable cardioverter‐defibrillator (WCD) to protect these patients from SCD. We investigated real‐life data on the safety, effectiveness, and compliance of the WCD in this population. METHODS: Data for analysis were collected via the Zoll Patient Management Network (ZPM) from patients who underwent cardiac surgery and who were discharged with a WCD between 2018 and 2021 at the Cardiac Surgery Center of the University of Erlangen in Germany. RESULTS: The majority of the 55 patients were male (90.9%) and underwent a coronary artery bypass graft (80.0%). The number of patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) >35% increased from 9.1% at the beginning of WCD use to 58.2% at the end of WCD use. Six ventricular tachycardia (VT) episodes occurred in four patients. The WCD appropriately defibrillated two patients with VT episodes. There were no inadequate shocks and no fatalities during the observation time. WCD wearing compliance was high, with a median wear time of 23.3 h/day. CONCLUSION: This retrospective analysis in a single cardiac surgery center confirms prior data on the safety and effectiveness of the WCD in patients in post‐surgery care in a real‐life setting. The WCD successfully protected patients from SCD during life‐threatening VT episodes. WCD wearing compliance was high.