Anesthetic management of cardiac tamponade after dual-chamber implantable cardioverter defibrillator implantation in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy

Abstract

We report a case of cardiac tamponade in a patient with dilated cardiomyopathy after undergoing dual-chamber implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) implantation. General anesthesia was required for subxiphoid pericardiotomy. Although the occurrence rate of adverse events with ICDs has been reported to be high, the acute onset of significant cardiac tamponade is uncommon as a short-term complication of ICD implantation. We describe our anesthetic management of cardiac tamponade in the ICD patient with dilated cardiomyopathy.