ICDs Reduce Death From Heart Failure
Heart Failure Patients May Benefit From ICDs, but Cost Is an Obstacle
March 9, 2004 (New Orleans) -- A tiny implantable defibrillator may be the best treatment for a broad range of patients with disabling heart failure -- saving lives when drugs alone can't do the job, says Gust H. Bardy, MD, president of the Seattle Institute for Cardiac Research.
And Bardy, who just completed overseeing the largest study ever of these devices, says he has the number to prove his point -- the devices commonly called ICDs reduced death by 23% compared with the best medical treatment. He unveiled those numbers at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session 2004.
Heart failure often follows injury such as the scarring caused by heart attacks or damage caused by infections that attack heart muscle. Heart failure means the heart begins to pump less efficiently and gets larger and weaker, which causes the fatigue, breathlessness, and swelling that are hallmarks of heart failure.
According the American Heart Association, about 5 million Americans are living with this condition, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
But one of the most dangerous complications of heart failure is sudden cardiac death, which is caused by an electrical failure in the heart that causes it to beat irregularly or suddenly stop beating. Defibrillators give an electric shock to the heart, helping to re-establish normal rhythms. ICDs are programmed to detect the irregular heartbeats that often precede sudden cardiac arrest. Perhaps the most famous recipient of an ICD is vice president Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart disease and who was implanted with an ICD shortly after taking office.
ICDs are often used in people who have a history of irregular heartbeats. In recent years, however, they have been implanted in patients who don't yet have arrhythmias but who are considered "at risk" because they have had heart attacks. And now, people with heart failure may be added to the list of patients who are eligible for ICD treatment.
But a big obstacle to ICD use is cost -- many models cost as much as $30,000, with physician and hospital fees on top of that. So researchers and payers, most notably Medicare and Medicaid, have been trying to decide which patients should get ICDs.
ICDs Reduce Death From Heart Failure
Heart Failure Patients May Benefit From ICDs, but Cost Is an Obstacle
March 9, 2004 (New Orleans) -- A tiny implantable defibrillator may be the best treatment for a broad range of patients with disabling heart failure -- saving lives when drugs alone can't do the job, says Gust H. Bardy, MD, president of the Seattle Institute for Cardiac Research.
And Bardy, who just completed overseeing the largest study ever of these devices, says he has the number to prove his point -- the devices commonly called ICDs reduced death by 23% compared with the best medical treatment. He unveiled those numbers at the American College of Cardiology Scientific Session 2004.
Heart failure often follows injury such as the scarring caused by heart attacks or damage caused by infections that attack heart muscle. Heart failure means the heart begins to pump less efficiently and gets larger and weaker, which causes the fatigue, breathlessness, and swelling that are hallmarks of heart failure.
New Candidates for ICDs
According the American Heart Association, about 5 million Americans are living with this condition, with 550,000 new cases diagnosed each year.
But one of the most dangerous complications of heart failure is sudden cardiac death, which is caused by an electrical failure in the heart that causes it to beat irregularly or suddenly stop beating. Defibrillators give an electric shock to the heart, helping to re-establish normal rhythms. ICDs are programmed to detect the irregular heartbeats that often precede sudden cardiac arrest. Perhaps the most famous recipient of an ICD is vice president Dick Cheney, who has a history of heart disease and who was implanted with an ICD shortly after taking office.
ICDs are often used in people who have a history of irregular heartbeats. In recent years, however, they have been implanted in patients who don't yet have arrhythmias but who are considered "at risk" because they have had heart attacks. And now, people with heart failure may be added to the list of patients who are eligible for ICD treatment.
But a big obstacle to ICD use is cost -- many models cost as much as $30,000, with physician and hospital fees on top of that. So researchers and payers, most notably Medicare and Medicaid, have been trying to decide which patients should get ICDs.