Michel Mirowski and the beginning of a new era of fighting sudden arrhythmic death.

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Prior to the implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), life-threatening ventricular arrhythmias were treated using anti-arrhythmic drugs. The concept of an implantable defibrillator to prevent sudden arrhythmic death was first published by Michel Mirowski in 1970. Despite critical opinions by leading physicians, Michel Mirowski continued development of his vision. Hallmarks in the development of the ICD include the following: internal-external defibrillator used during surgery on humans in 1971/1972; fully implantable defibrillator tested in canines in 1975; defibrillator successfully implanted in a 57-year-old woman in 1980; second generation devices introduced in 1982; US Food and Drug Administration device approved in 1985. Today it is hard to imagine modern medicine without ICD therapy. This article provides the reader a history of the development of the ICD.