Article ID: CJ-14-1098
Background:Wearable cardioverter-defibrillators (WCD) have been available in Japan since April 2014, but their application is still limited.Methods and Results:We report 9 patients with a WCD applied between April and September 2014. All patients were at high risk of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias. During WCD use, 1 patient had sustained ventricular tachycardia and successful shock delivery; 6 (67%) subsequently underwent implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) therapy, while 2 had no requirement because of reduced risk, and 1 died of heart failure during WCD use.Conclusions:WCD is useful during acute-phase care of high-risk patients, and may help to avoid unnecessary ICD implantation.