Efficacy and tolerability of automatic nighttime atrial fibrillation shocks in patients with permanent internal atrial defibrillators

Thirteen patients with atrial defibrillators who received a preprogrammed nocturnal shock approximately 1 hour before their usual wake time were queried about their experience. Reported pain scores on a scale of 1 to 10 were 5 +/- 3.6, and none of the patients requested that automatic shocks be disabled immediately following their first experience, suggesting that automatic nocturnal shocks for symptomatic atrial fibrillation are tolerated in most patients.