The LifeVest^® wearable cardioverter defibrillator (WCD) is a treatment option for patients at risk of sudden cardiac death (SCD) that can offer advanced protection and monitoring as well as improved quality of life.

LifeVest is a wearable defibrillator. Unlike an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), LifeVest is worn outside the body rather than implanted in the chest. LifeVest is designed to continuously monitor a patient’s heart, detect certain life-threatening rapid heart rhythms, and automatically deliver a treatment shock to restore normal heart rhythm.

The device is designed to alert a patient prior to delivering a treatment shock, and thus allows a conscious patient to delay the treatment. If the patient becomes unconscious, the device is designed to release a Blue™ gel over the therapy electrodes and deliver an electrical shock to restore normal rhythm.

Following a cardiac event, risk of SCD is highest in the first 90 days^1,2
1Solomon SD, Zelenkofske S, McMurray JJ, et al. Sudden death in patients with myocardial infarction and left ventricular dysfunction, heart failure, or both. N Engl J Med. 2005;352:2581–2588.
²Adabag AS, Therneau TM, Gersh BJ, et al. Sudden death after myocardial infarction. JAMA. Circulation 2008;300(17):2022–2029.

Despite PCI & GDMT, 1 in 20 post-MI (EF≤35%) patients die in the first 90 days^3
3Olgin JE, Pletcher MJ, Vittinghoff E, et al. Wearable cardioverter-defibrillator after myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 2018;379(13):1205–1215.

SCD accounts for ~50% of mortality following an MI, PCI, or new HF diagnosis (EF≤35%)^4,5
4Olgin JE, Pletcher MJ, Vittinghoff E, et al. Wearable cardioverter-defibrillator after myocardial infarction. N Engl J Med. 2018;379(13):1205–1215.
⁵Packer M, Bristow MR, Cohn JN, et al. The effect of carvedilol on morbidity and mortality in patients with chronic heart failure. N Engl J Med. 1996;334(21):1349–1355.