Background: The aim of this study was to compare differences between Polish ICD recipients and ICD recipients from other European countries in terms of quality of life, information provision before ICD implantation, and end-of-life issues.
Methods: This is a sub-analysis of the "Living with an ICD" patient survey (25-item questionnaire) organized by the European Heart Rhythm Association between 12 April 2021 and 5 July 2021 in ten European countries.
Results: There were 410 (22.7%) patients from Poland and 1399 (77.3%) from other European countries. A total of 51.0% of Polish patients reported improvement in their quality of life compared with 44.3% in other countries (p = 0.041). Remote monitoring was three times more often utilized in other countries than in Poland (66.8% vs. 21.0%, p < 0.001). While 78.1% of Poles felt well informed before ICD implantation compared with 69.6% of subjects from other countries (p = 0.001), they were less familiar with the ICD deactivation process than others (38.9% vs. 52.5%, p < 0.001).
Conclusions: Despite the less frequent use of remote monitoring and gaps in end-of-life issues, Polish ICD recipients reported more favorable quality of life and a higher level of information received before device placement than patients in other European countries.
Keywords: quality of life; sudden cardiac death; ventricular arrhythmias.