Case report of out-of-hospital heat dissipation of an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator.

The implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) has revolutionized the treatment of patients at risk of sudden cardiac death due to ventricular arrhythmias. Repeated studies have shown them to increase overall survival rates in patients with congestive heart failure or previous myocardial infarction and left ventricular dysfunction. We present a rare case of out-of-hospital ICD heat dissipation due to rapid battery discharge preceded by an audible popping noise.