ICD inplant
I have heart failure and my cardiologist has suggested a icd inplant. Although he's been very informative I would like to hear from others stories and lifestyles that have had this procedure
my husband had a 2nd heart attack in Feb 2021 (1st one 10 years prior) and decided to get the Medtronic ICD placed in Sept 2021. The procedure went smoothly. It was helpful for us to talk to another couple we know who had it done (husband). They filled us in on what to expect, etc. We had questions, like, would he be able to use a snow blower/riding mower again? (The answer was yes). Of course, it's best to speak with the medical professionals with your questions as well. It's a big decision to make for sure. But as much as we wondered if the right decision was made, truth be told it saved his life earlier this year when we both had covid. We later found out he had a dangerous rhythm that if it had not been corrected by the ICD, would have resulted in cardiac arrest. Good luck! 
Hi. Thank you for your inquiry. Sorry that you have to deal with heart failure. An ICD is a treatment device that many members of our community have, and it would certainly be neat to hear from them. In the meantime, one of our contributors has written a post about her experience and tips. I will post it here (https://heart-failure.net/living/getting-icd) if you want to check us out. I hope this helps. John. heart-failure.net community moderator. CommunityMember205, I had an ICD implanted in September '21. I have had days that I wished I didn't get one but I continue to tell myself I need it. I'm a 56 year old woman and have a 25% EF and considered stage 3 heart failure. If you do get it done, it takes a good year to get used to it. I thought they were crazy when they told me that, but here I am 8 Months with it and I can't say I'm totally used to it being there. Luckily, I haven't needed it to restart or pace my heart yet so I can't really tell you what that's like. I definitely wish you luck with your decision. Do what's best for you!
I can understand that 100%. I first recieve an ICD at the age of 17 years old. It was a Huge adjustment. I had to change it out in my late 20s and it took all that time to get use to it. For me because I knew I needed the pacemaker I changed my mindset and it helped me out alot. I then quickly adjusted to my new normal.
Kimberly (Heart-failure.net Team)
