Use of an implantable cardioverter defibrillator in a patient with two implanted neurostimulators for severe Parkinson's disease

We report a patient with Parkinson's disease treated with two pectorally im planted neurostimulators (NSs) who presented with a life-threatening ventri cular tachyarrhythmia in whom an abdominal ICD was implanted. Testing durin g implantation showed that the NS did not affect the bipolar sensing of the ICD, even when the NSs were set at a frequency of 130 pulses/s with an out put of 5 V and pulse width of 0.21 ms in a bipolar and a unipolar configura tion. The ICD shock, however, did affect both NSs: there was a reset to the output Off state and there was a reset of the electrode polarities.