Figure 3.
Effect of ICD shocks on Short Form-36 quality-of-life domains. Patients in the ICD arm who had an ICD shock within 1 month following a scheduled quality-of-life follow-up assessment were compared with ICD patients without an ICD shock. Change scores for the ICD shock group were calculated as the post-shock value minus the most recent pre-shock value. Change scores for the comparison group were the 3 month quality of life values minus baseline. When we used other follow-up contacts (12 months, 24 months) to construct the “no shock” change scores, results were unaltered.