LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator

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LifeVest wearable defibrillatorThe First Wearable Defibrillator - Constant Monitoring, Immediate Protection, Peace of Mind

The LifeVest wearable defibrillator is the first and only wearable defibrillator for patients at high risk of sudden cardiac arrest (SCA).

The non-invasive device, approved by the FDA in 2002, provides emergency defibrillation and has been worn by over 20,000 patients, and has a 98 percent first shock success rate for treating patients for SCA without requiring bystander intervention.

Timely emergency defibrillation is the single most important factor in saving a SCA victim's life. If it detects a life threatening rhythm, the LifeVest alerts the patient to allow a conscious patient to prevent a shock. If the patient is unconscious, the device delivers emergency defibrillation in the form of an electrical shock to restore normal rhythm. The entire event, from detecting a life-threatening arrhythmia to automatically delivering an emergency defibrillation shock, usually occurs in less than a minute.

LifeVest Emergency Defibrillation 

The LifeVest wearable defibrillator is worn outside the body rather than implanted in the chest. The LifeVest system consists of two main components: (1) an electrode belt and garment that surrounds the patient's chest, and (2) a monitor that the patient wears around the waist or from a shoulder strap. The LifeVest electrodes are dry and non-adhesive to provide patient comfort. The monitor weighs about 1.8 pounds, making it the lightest external emergency defibrillator available.

Key LifeVest Wearable Defibrillator Benefits:

Constant Monitoring 

  • Records critical patient data to help diagnose and treat arrhythmic conditions.
  • Provides continuous ECG and patient compliance monitoring.

Immediate Protection 

  • Advanced VT/VF detection algorithm tailored to the patient.
  • Fully-automated system that offers less-than-one-minute treatment for unresponsive patients suffering from a tachyarrhythmia.

Peace of Mind 

  • Protects your patient while determining the need for an ICD.
  • Fully automatic--doesn't require bystander response or intervention from anyone.
  • Lightweight device allows freedom of movement and a return to normal activities.

Our data provide a rationale for considering early interventional strategies, including short-term therapies, in selected patients at risk. 

Solomon SD et al. "Sudden Death in Patients with Myocardial Infarction and Left Ventricular Dysfunction, Heart Failure, or Both." NEJM 2005; 352:2581-2588.   

 

"An alternative solution [to immediately implanting an ICD], given the observance that risk drops dramatically within six months after acute myocardial infarction, might be to provide noninvasive vest defibrillators…to high-risk patients for limited periods." 

Buxton AE. "Sudden Death after Myocardial Infarction-Who Needs Prophylaxis, and When?" NEJM 2005; 352:2638-2640.