Living on the edge--patients with an automatic internal cardioverter defibrillator (AICD): implications for nursing practice.

Automatic internal cardioverter defibrillator (AICD) therapy is an expanding treatment option for patients experiencing sudden cardiac death events [Author: is this the correct term? It sounds as if they have in fact died. Could we say 'experiencing sudden, potentially fatal, cardiac events'?]. The paper outlines the background to the technique and the nursing care of such patients and their families. It recommends that future nursing research should focus on exploring the impact, on the patients and their families, of living with this device.