Cardiac Implantable Electronic Devices

Medical devices have revolutionized the care of individuals with heart disease. With the advent of new technologies and improving miniaturization, pediatricPediatric cardiologists are now able to enlist the help of myriad devices to monitor and treat a wide variety of bradyarrhythmias and tachyarrhythmias. The decisions for the type of device, implantation strategy, and monitoring/treatment parameters are often very complex in pediatricsPediatric, especially when the device needs are superimposed on congenital heart diseaseCongenital heart disease. Cardiologists are therefore required to balance many factors to allow for the treatment of smaller, more complex patients. For example, the needs of a patient with congenital complete heart block and a structurally normal heart are vastly different from one with ccTGA, complete heart block, and FontanFontan physiology. As the complexity of the pediatricPediatric and congenital cardiac population increases, more of these patients are requiring cardiac implantable electronic devicesCardiac implantable electronic devices (CIEDs). Those involved in cardiac care must therefore ensure that they have a working knowledge of these systems and know when to reach out to their electrophysiology colleagues for help. In the following chapter, we will explore some of the basics of CIEDs including the major indications, types of devices, terminology used, and troubleshooting of common issues.