Hi-tech implant saves man's life

Dave Miller has had an ICD fitted for two years

A man with a heart problem has said he would be dead had it not been for a hi-tech heart monitor fitted in his chest.

Dave Miller was walking his dog miles from his Berkshire home when his implantable cardiac defibrillator kick-started his heart, saving his life.

The small device, which sits under the skin, shocks the heart back into life if it detects an irregular beat.

Doctors at the Royal Berkshire Hospital said they had fitted 120 of the devices in the past two years.

Mr Miller has a long-standing heart condition, but was unaware there was any problem right then until the device kicked into action.

The 67-year-old from Woodley said: "I was walking my dog, I came back to the car and my ICD went off three times in a minute.

"I'd be dead without it."

The device, which was part developed by the University of Cambridge, scans the whole heart in the same way as an electrocardiogram (ECG).

The ICD is fitted under the skin and monitors the heart

Rather than being attached to the heart like a pacemaker, it sits just under the skin and can be fitted using a local anaesthetic.

It is believed to have saved hundreds of lives across the UK in the past two years.

Dr John Swinburn, of the Royal Berkshire Hospital, said: "It's fitted just like a pacemaker.

"We put a small cut under the collar bone on the left and then find a vein put the lead down it into the heart, connect it all up and it's there watching and waiting."

Mr Miller said he has been able to lead a normal life in the two years he has had an ICD fitted.

He added: "If it had not gone off I would be six feet under."