Do you know the difference between a pacemaker and an implantable defibrillator?

by Carolyn Thomas  ♥  @HeartSisters

Before surviving a heart attack, I knew virtually nothing about pacemakers (they were just something that old people have to get, right?) and absolutely nothing about the cardiac device called implantable cardioverter defibrillators, or ICDs. 

In fact, the first time I laid eyes on a person with an ICD was at my 7-week Heart To Heart cardiac support group after I was discharged from hospital. 

One of the people in my group was a lovely, athletic 24-year old woman who had been diagnosed with a rare and serious heart arrhythmia called Long QT Syndrome.* Her sister had recently died suddenly due to the same condition.

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