An implanted heart rhythm device may generate repeated painful shocks during a patient's final hours, at a time when the natural process of dying often affects the heart's rhythm. Yet, clinicians rarely discuss options for limiting these distressing events at the end of life, according to a new review of literature, appearing in the current issue of American Journal of Nursing.

The devices known as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) can be reprogrammed or deactivated by trained providers to avoid the unnecessary shocks. However, most patients don't understand enough about the devices to consider stopping treatment as death nears.

Health care systems should "identify ways to promote timely deactivation discussions and thus foster better patient-centered, end-of-life care in people with ICDs," says author Jim Russo, a certified cardiac device specialist at the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in New York City.

"Cardiologists and electrophysiologists have been notoriously poor at talking about end-of-life care," says David L. Hayes, M.D., an internationally recognized specialist in cardiovascular disease. Hayes is a co-author of the 2010 consensus statement on device withdrawal published by the Heart Rhythm Society. "The discussion about end of life needs to occur at multiple points along the continuum of care," he says.

"Discussions should occur at implantation and again at periodic follow-up visits," suggests Russo. "Providers periodically review and discuss advance directives, and that would be a good time to discuss this issue also."

The review calls for health care services to develop written policies on device deactivation and for stronger alliances among primary care providers, cardiologists, and palliative care experts. Nurses may also have an important role as they are often responsible for patient education and may be the first to recognize when a patient's condition begins to deteriorate.

Hayes points out that end-of-life issues related to implantable cardiac devices are not going away. "Providers need to get over their reluctance to discuss death and dying. These are issues in this technically advanced world of treating an aging population that we are all going to need to deal with."

The views expressed in Russo's article represent those of the author and should not be construed as an official position of the Veterans Administration.

Key Points:

Implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs) are a fairly common treatment for patients with life-threatening heart arrhythmias, with over 140,000 implanted in 2009 alone.

Most patients who have implanted cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), which regulate heart rhythm, don't realize that the devices can cause repeated painful shocks of limited therapeutic value as the patient nears death, according to a new review.

Clinicians tend to avoid talking with ICD patients about disabling the devices at the end of life, either due to discomfort or lack of knowledge about deactivation.