A review on wearable cardioverter-defibrillators in clinical practice for sudden cardiac death prevention and heart failure management
David Duncker, Rodrigue Garcia, Diana Bonderman, Giancarlo Casolo, Michał M. Farkowski, Carsten W. Israel, Éloi Marijon
Abstract
Sudden cardiac death (SCD) remains a predominant mode of death in cardiovascular mortality. Despite advancements in guideline-recommended medical therapy and risk stratification, accurately identifying patients who would benefit most from implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy over the long term remains a significant challenge. The wearable cardioverter-defibrillator (WCD) has emerged as a non-invasive bridge to either ICD implantation or recovery of left ventricular function. This expert review presents a comprehensive and up-to-date summary of clinical evidence on WCD use for SCD prevention and heart failure (HF) management. Specifically, it will address: (i) the concept and mechanism of the WCD; (ii) evidence from randomized and observational studies regarding efficacy, safety, and cost-effectiveness; (iii) integration of the WCD into HF management; and (iv) knowledge gaps and priorities for future research.