ICD patients with elevated defibrillation threshold: clinical behavior and therapeutic alternatives.

Background: The ideal programming of the implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) shock energy should be at least 10J above the defibrillation threshold (DFT), requiring alternative techniques when the DFT is elevated.

Objective: To assess the clinical behavior of ICD patients with DFT>25J and the efficacy of the chosen therapy.

Methods: Patients who had undergone ICD implantation between Jan/00 and Aug/04 (prospective database) and presented intraoperative DFT>25J were selected.