Automatic implantable cardioverter-defibrillator: history and future developments.

The clinical experience with automatic internal defibrillation is now extensive, with over 65,000 patients treated since the first implantation in 1980. The success of the technique is largely the result of the perseverance and foresight of Dr. Michel Mirowski, although many people were eventually involved. The author was privileged to participate almost from the very inception of the project. The early experiments and some of the difficulties along the way leading up to the present extensive favorable human experience are described.