1. Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillators Save Lives from Lightning-Related Electrocution Too!
- Author
-
Ashok Kondur, Dhanunjaya R. Lakkireddy, Loren D. Berenbom, and Luis C. Afonso
- Subjects
medicine.medical_specialty ,Unusual case ,business.industry ,medicine.medical_treatment ,General Medicine ,medicine.disease ,Implantable cardioverter-defibrillator ,people.cause_of_death ,Lightning ,Electrocution ,Lightning strike ,Internal medicine ,Ventricular fibrillation ,cardiovascular system ,medicine ,Cardiology ,cardiovascular diseases ,Asystole ,Cardiology and Cardiovascular Medicine ,business ,people ,Lightning injuries - Abstract
We report an unusual case of a 75-year-old male electrocuted by lightning strike rescued by implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock coincidentally. Lightning strikes are an unusual cause of fatal cardiac arrhythmias. Depending on the amount of energy and the current vector affecting the heart, the arrhythmia burden ranges from asystole to ventricular fibrillation.
- Published
- 2008