What wonderful outpouring of love, support and prayers! All your messages and donations are getting routed directly to Aileen, who is gratefully receiving these blessings. Thank you for your kindness and involvement in fundraising!

Aileen is currently taking a series of tests to ascertain her full health condition, what kind of ICD device needed and when the operation can be done. Many might be not be aware of ICD / procedure, so we prepared an FAQ for those who would like a primer (cheers Dr Mic!):

What’s an ICD?

An Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator (ICD) is a battery-powered device placed under the skin that keeps track of your heart rate. If an abnormal rhythm is detected, the device will deliver an electric shock to restore a normal heart beat. ICDs have been very useful in preventing sudden death in patients with irregular heart beat.

How different is it with a pacemaker?

An ICD is both a pacemaker and a defibrillator. A pacemaker can send low impulses to restore normal rhythm. An ICD can send these low impulses too but if needed be like in sudden cardiac arrest, can send high impulses, which can restart the heart again. So it’s a step up from the pacemaker.

How much does it cost?

The device itself costs 280-500k (depending on the number of chambers needed).

Why does Aileen need an ICD?

Aileen is a diagnosed case of Dilated Cardiomyopathy (DCMP) which predisposes her to have irregular heart beat. The lower the ejection fraction (EF ), the more dangerous it is. The normal EF is above 55%. Aileen already went as low as 14%. Just recently she had a life threatening heart irregularity and was advised by her cardio to have an ICD as soon as possible.