Kent Hospital has successfully completed implantation of its first subcutaneous defibrillator (S-ICD) system for the treatment of patients at risk for sudden cardiac arrest (SCA), the hospital announced in a release issued this week.

The S-ICD system is the only fully subcutaneous (under the skin) implantable defibrillator (S-ICD) that provides protection without placing wires in the bloodstream or connecting to the heart.

The first patient implant at Kent was performed by Bruce A. Koplan, MD, MPH, director of the Cardiac Arrhythmia Service for Care New England. Dr. Koplan, part of Brigham and Women’s Cardiovascular Associates at Care New England, is also the first physician in New England to implant the same device in a patient previously at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston.

“As clinical technology continues to advance it allows us to provide our patients with excellent options that are best suited to their specific needs while also improving upon safety and long-term results. The first implant of this lifesaving device here continues to show Kent and Care New England’s ongoing commitment to providing the best possible cardiac care closer to home,” Dr. Koplan said in a statement.

SCA is a serious, life-threatening condition that happens abruptly and without warning. During SCA, the heart’s electrical system malfunctions, and it is no longer able to pump blood to the rest of the body. The lack of blood to the brain causes the person to lose consciousness quickly. If the person does not receive immediate treatment with defibrillation, brain damage and death can occur.

For those at risk of SCA, one treatment option is an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD), which may prevent sudden cardiac death. ICDs are implanted devices that can sense arrhythmias (irregular heartbeats) and deliver strong electrical shocks to the heart to restore a normal heartbeat. ICD therapy has been shown to effectively stop 95 percent or more of dangerously fast heart rhythms. With an ICD device, 19 out of 20 people will survive SCA.

The S-ICD system is designed to provide the same protection from SCA as traditional transvenous implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs). However, the entirety of the system sits just below the skin without the need for thin, insulated wires - known as leads - to be placed into the heart itself. This leaves the heart and blood vessels untouched, which may result in a less invasive treatment that avoids potentially serious complications associated with leads in the heart. As a second generation S-ICD, the system provides patients with a smaller and thinner device that is projected to last 40 percent longer than the previous version, and is enabled for remote patient management.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted regulatory approval for the latest S-ICD system in March 2015.