%0 Journal Article %T Analysis of Patients with LifeVest after Cardiac Surgery %A Vusal Hajiyev %A Temirlan Erkenov %A Andreas Smechowski %A Soeren Just %A Oliver Grimmig %A Dirk Fritzsche %J World Journal of Cardiovascular Surgery %P 59-65 %@ 2164-3210 %D 2020 %I Scientific Research Publishing %R 10.4236/wjcs.2020.105008 %X Background: Patients with left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ¡Ü 35% are at a high risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) and benefit from implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy. ICD implantation is not indicated during the first 40 days after acute myocardial infarction and <3 months after coronary artery bypass grafting, because of possible cardiac function recovery. The wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) is a therapy option for preventing sudden cardiac death at the time of recovery. This study evaluated the effectiveness of the wearable cardioverter-defibrillator in preventing SCD after cardiac surgery. Methods: This is a retrospective study conducted in the Heart Center in Cottbus. From 02.2015 through 02.2018 26 WCD patients were retrospectively analyzed and followed-up. Patient demographics, defibrillation treatments, and daily wear times were retrospectively obtained from our clinical database and LifeVest network. The patients were questioned about actual NYHA grade and implanted ICD at the end of follow-up. Results: Twenty-five patients (mean age 65, 22 men, 3 women) were treated with a WCD in response to heart failure (mean EF = 24%) after cardiac surgery (21 CABG, 1 AVR, 1 AVR + CABG, 1 AVR + MVR, MVR + CABG). Average daily use of a WCD was 22.1 (SD ¡À 2.7) hours which were worn for 85 days (SD ¡À 35). At that time 11.96 (SD ¡À 15) events were detected but not %K Wearable Cardioverter-Defibrillator %K LifeVest %K Cardiac Insufficiency %K Cardiac Surgery %U http://www.scirp.org/journal/PaperInformation.aspx?PaperID=100369