Dec 12 (HeartCenterOnline) - Patients who had survived a life-threatening heart rhythm actually reported fewer car accidents than the national average, according to a recent survey. Published in a recent issue of the New England Journal of Medicine, a total of only 55 accidents were reported, which is 3.4 percent per patient-year. The national average in the United States is 7.1 percent per year. The study was discussed in the current issue of the Harvard Heart Letter.

The survey polled 627 patients who were enrolled in the Antiarrhythmics Versus Implantable Defibrillators (AVID) study and had resumed driving. All patients in the AVID study had either received an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) or were taking medication (antiarrhythmics) alone, and all patients had survived a life-threatening episode of ventricular tachycardia.

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is an abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) that results from electrical impulses arising from the ventricles instead of the heart's natural pacemaker. In severe cases, patients with VT go into cardiac arrest, meaning that their heart stops beating, and treatment with a defibrillator is needed immediately to prevent sudden cardiac death. Survivors of cardiac arrest (also known as an "aborted sudden cardiac death") typically require ongoing treatment such as regular doses of antiarrhythmics or the insertion of an ICD.

An analysis of the survey data revealed that patients did have some arrhythmia-related experiences while driving. For example, about 2 percent of the patients briefly lost consciousness while behind the wheel. A number of patients also experienced dizziness or a racing/galloping heartbeat while driving, leading 11 percent to pull over and 22 percent to keep driving. Of the patients with ICDs, approximately 8 percent received an electric charge or "jolt" from the device while driving.

Despite these fairly common experiences for the patients, the authors concluded that, among these patients, "accidents are uncommon and occur with a frequency that is lower than the annual accident rate of 7.1 percent in the general driving population of the United States."

For additional information, click on any of the following:
Pacemaker vs. ICD and driving restrictions
The Arrhythmia Center
The ICD Center
Antiarrhythmics

Copyright 2001 HeartCenterOnline