• Centers and Departments
• Back to Diseases and Conditions
• Arrhythmias
• Atrial Fibrillation
• Bradycardia or Low Heart Rate
• Brugada Syndrome
  • Signs and Symptoms
  • Risk Factors
  • Causes
  • Diagnosis
  • Treatments
  • Physicians and Services
• Long QT Syndrome
• Palpitations
• Sudden Death or Cardiac Arrest
• Syncope or Fainting
• Tachycardia or Fast Heart Rate
• Wolff-Parkinson-White Syndrome

Treatments

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator

Brugada syndrome has a very poor prognosis if left untreated. The only treatment is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), a device that is programmed to detect cardiac arrhythmia and correct it by delivering a jolt of electricity.

Implantation of an ICD is similar to that of a pacemaker. The device includes electrode wires which pass through a vein to the right chambers of the heart, and which usually are lodged in the apex of the right ventricle.

Pacemaker vs. ICD

1. Pacemakers are generally designed to consistently correct bradycardia or low heart rate, while ICDs are often permanent protections against sudden arrhythmic abnormalities.
   
2. A pacemaker monitors electrical impulses, while an ICD monitors heart rhythms.
   
3. The devices are roughly the same size and are implanted in the same area of the chest.