Cardiac Pacing and Electrophysiology, Department of Cardiovascular ...
The Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery
... reduction in mortality when patients with markers for increased risk of ventricular arrhythmia underwent implantable cardioverter-defibrillator implantation at ...

Replacing ailing heart devices a major issue
Bradenton Herald - FL, United States
... Implanted under a muscle in Bob Ryan's stomach is a cardiac defibrillator with a ... unprotected if his ailing heart were to go into a life-threatening arrhythmia.

Music & the Heart
Heart Center on Line
Slow, meditative music may be good for a person's heart rate and blood pressure.

~~~~~~~~~~ May 8

Ivanhoe Series
o High-Tech Humans: Merging Man and Machine (Part 1 of 3)
o High-Tech Humans: Brainy Ideas (Part 2 of 3)
o High-Tech Humans: The Future of the Medicine Cabinet (Part 3 of 3)

Largest US Study Confirms Predictive Ability of Microvolt T-Wave ...
Genetic Engineering News - Larchmont,NY,USA
... of the patients evaluated had no history of ventricular arrhythmia and would ... group of patients that were not treated with implantable defibrillator therapy the ...

~~~~~~~~~~ May 5

Replacing patients' ailing heart devices a major issue
TMCnet - USA
... A defibrillator shocks the heart back into a normal rhythm when it goes into a dangerously fast arrhythmia. Most newer devices combine ...

~~~~~~~~~~ May 4

Testimony begins in wrongful death suit
Boston Globe - United States
... Doctors started Petrie's heart again with a defibrillator, but she had suffered ... received proper care and died as a result of an undiagnosed heart arrhythmia. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ May 3

Expert Column - Atrial Fibrillation in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction and Heart Failure: What Have We Learned to Date?
Medscape Cardiology

CME Clinical Update - State-of-the-Art Mapping and Visualization During Catheter Ablation for Atrial Fibrillation
Medscape Cardiology

Expert Column - Pacing in Heart Failure: First, Do No Harm
Medscape Cardiology

~~~~~~~~~~ April 29

Studies show heart devices' failure rates
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh,PA,USA
... The New York Times said that Guidant sold a defibrillator model that it knew had ... have put her at risk for developing a potentially fatal arrhythmia, a problem ...

~~~~~~~~~~ April 27

Arrhythmia and blues
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney,New South Wales,Australia
... For people who are at high risk of sudden death, like Jones and her sister Louise, an implantable defibrillator is fitted in a three-hour operation. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ April 26

Heart devices have different malfunction rates
Heart Center on Line

Study assesses hazards of replacing heart device
Contra Costa Times - CA,USA
... of people have undergone surgery to have an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator -- an ICD ... "About two years ago, I surveyed arrhythmia physicians," he said ...

Higher Teacher Pensions Enacted in Md.
Washington Post - United States
... in Silver Spring who died at home last May from cardiac arrhythmia, Ehrlich said ... Helgeson, say that had they had access to a portable defibrillator, they might .

ICD Recalls Do Not Increase Patient Mortality, Study Shows
Medscape CRM News

Pacemakers Prompt Reverse Left Ventricular Remodeling
Reuters Health Information

Sleep Apnea Increases Cardiac Arrhythmia Risk
Reuters Health Information

Blunted Heart Rate Rise During Exercise an Ominous Sign in Healthy Men
Reuters Health Information

~~~~~~~~~~ April 25

Pacemaker and ICD Malfunction—An Incomplete Picture
Journal of American Medical Association (subscription) - Chicago , IL , USA
... life-sustaining and life-saving implantable arrhythmia device technologies ... decisions regarding pacemaker or implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) surgery ...

Height & Heart Risk
Heart Center Online
Could a person's height affect their chance of developing a certain type of arrhythmia? 

~~~~~~~~~~ April 23

Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome
KRDO - Colorado Springs , CO , USA
... brain. She had suffered Sudden Arrhythmia Death Syndrome, also known as Long QT. ... recovery. "I have an implanted defibrillator in my body. ...

Healing hearts, saving lives
Bismarck Tribune - ND, USA
... and a defibrillator would be used when the ambulance came, but it would be too late. She would lose her silly, bright boy to cardiac arrhythmia, something she ...

~~~~~~~~~~ April 20

The Technology of Law and The Law of Technology - Part II
Global Politician - Brooklyn , NY , USA
... used to resuscitate patients suffering from severe cardiac arrhythmia's. But such resuscitation is MANDATORY by LAW. So, the defibrillator - a technological ...April 23

~~~~~~~~~~ April 18

Medicare rules hit heart device makers
Heart Center Online

FDA calls in expertise on heart device safety: report
Heart Center Online

~~~~~~~~~~ April 11

Year after almost dying, ex-Valpo center on rebound
Chicago Sun-Times - United States
... Harris had an undiagnosed brain trauma and possibly a heart arrhythmia, but doctors ... Those in the building used a defibrillator to give Harris seven blasts of ...

~~~~~~~~~~ April 10

Valparaiso player who almost died knows playing days are over
Fort Wayne News Sentinel - Fort Wayne,IN,USA
... He had an undiagnosed brain trauma and possibly a heart arrhythmia, but doctors still don't ... Those at the center used a defibrillator to give the 2003 Indiana Mr .....

St. Jude Medical Announces Regulatory Approvals and Market Launch ...
International News Service - Sydney , Australia
... R) ST lead, the world's thinnest implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) lead. ... said G. Joseph Gallinghouse, MD, of Texas Cardiac Arrhythmia, a division of ...

~~~~~~~~~~ April 10

Fatal arrhythmias uncommon for young people
Pittsburgh Tribune-Review - Pittsburgh , PA , USA
... for arrhythmias can have a defibrillator surgically implanted under the collar bone with a wire going to the heart, Bonnet said. If an arrhythmia starts, the ....

~~~~~~~~~~ April 7

Lethal irregular heartbeat comes from heart muscle problem
San Jose Mercury News - CA, USA
... an implantable defibrillator, which monitors the heart rhythm and shocks the heart if an adjustment is necessary, Mehta said. In 1993, heart arrhythmia killed ....

~~~~~~~~~~ April 5

New Fiction
Atlantic Online - USA
... a defibrillator. The vocabulary of heart disease hurled at the reader—angiogram, anterior descending artery, ejection fraction, fatal cardiac arrhythmia—is ...

Expert Column - Pacing in Heart Failure: First, Do No Harm
Medscape Cardiology

Why should strong consideration be given to implanting biventricular pacemakers in all patients with symptomatic HF or in those with left ventricular dysfunction who have class I indications for antibradycardia pacing? .

Microvolt T-Wave Alternans Testing and ICD Risk Stratification: An Expert Interview With Anne B. Curtis, MD
Medscape Cardiology
MTWA is a very promising test to help rule out ICD therapy in certain patients -- but is it ready for routine clinical use? .

Journal Scan - Biventricular vs Right Ventricular Pacing: Should CRT Be Frontline Therapy in All HF Patients With Pacing Indications?
Medscape Cardiology
A brief summation of recent studies that add to the growing debate as to the pacing therapy of choice when managing patients with HF and an indication for antibradycardia pacing. .

Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator and Cardiac Resynchronization Therapy in Patients With Left Ventricular Dysfunction: Evidence Based Medicine, Economics, And Guidelines
Medscape Cardiology
Device-based therapies for heart failure have been proven to be of unequivocal benefit. Here, a leading expert discusses the evidence, guideline mandates, cost, and safety issues affecting these therapies.

Evidence-Based Medical Therapy and Device Therapy for Heart Failure: Points of Emphasis in the New 2005 AHA/ACC Guidelines
Medscape Cardiology
Heart failure -- no longer a fatalistic diagnosis. Focus on 2005 ACC/AHA heart failure consensus guidelines.

~~~~~~~~~~ April 4

Fischer hopes to rejoin Wings
DetNews.com - Detroit , MI , USA
... his collapse from a life-threatening heart arrhythmia. He likely would have died had it not been for the immediate use of automated external defibrillator (AED ...

~~~~~~~~~~ April 3

Sudden cardiac death
Health24.com - Cape Town , South Africa
... These irregular heart rhythms (arrhythmia) may cause the heart to abruptly stop beating. ... with an electrical shock (with the use of a defibrillator) or with ...

~~~~~~~~~~ April 2

A dangerous bond
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (subscription) - Milwaukee , WI , USA
... if an electrophysiological study had been performed, her arrhythmia would have been found, and she would have been implanted with a defibrillator that would ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 26

Tell-tale heart device focus of Guidant suit
Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription) - MN,USA
... claims that Gohde's defibrillator was defective and failed to revive him when he ... implanted three years earlier to prevent a fatal heart arrhythmia -- had short ....

~~~~~~~~~~ March 24

Backlash >From Device Failures in Cardiac Rhythm Management Market ...
Yahoo! News (press release) - USA
... can couple the inherent rise in cardiac arrhythmia patients with ... analysis of the pacemaker, implantable cardioverter defibrillator, cardiac resynchronization ...

Method for avoiding sudden death
Basque Research - Usurbil , Spain
... This involves a very rapid arrhythmia - more than 400 beats a minute. ... An electrical discharge with a defibrillator makes the difference between life and death. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 23

Widow claims failure of Guidant device led to husband's death
Boston Globe - United States
... On the morning Gohde died, his defibrillator detected an arrhythmia that should have prompted the device to shock the heart back to a normal beat, according to ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 22

A microscope to the heart
Crain's Cleveland Business - Cleveland , OH , USA
... less likely the person is to have a life-threatening cardiac arrhythmia, he said. ... a year by cutting down on the number of unnecessary defibrillator implants, Dr ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 29

Doctors are fallible, just like the rest of us
Concord Monitor - Concord , NH , USA
... There was the thumping sound of the defibrillator and then nothing. ... She had a long history of heart arrhythmia and type II diabetes, although both were thought ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 18

2006 Women's Preview
Outsports.com - Los Angeles , CA , USA
... her chest. Unfortunately, in January the defibrillator shocked her heart after discovering an arrhythmia, ending her playing days. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 16

Patient's heart on hotline to doctor
Sydney Morning Herald - Sydney , New South Wales , Australia
... After two heart attacks and a quadruple bypass, Mr Lacey's only chance of survival was a defibrillator. He suffers arrhythmia, a condition in which his heart ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 15

Sticker Shock: ; Defibrillators Expensive, but Lifesavers
International News Service - Sydney,Australia
... An AICD usually goes into patients whose irregular heartbeat, or arrhythmia, does not ... Because of the computer inside the defibrillator, Ramsey has to avoid ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 15

Washington Huskies
Minneapolis Star Tribune (subscription) - MN, USA
... Newsworthy: Senior guard Kayla Burt was forced to quit the team in January when her defibrillator shocked her heart after detecting an arrhythmia. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 9

Cardiac care centre at Sturgeon
Redwater Tribune - Morinville,Alberta,Canada
... Holter monitor is worn for 24 hours by a patient experiencing arrhythmia, or an ... Among the equipment in that room is a heart defibrillator that can shock the ...

Implanted defibrillators keep patients' hearts steady every day
Houston Chronicle - United States
... In reality, the " EMS crew" in Shillings' chest is an ICD, an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. When the device senses arrhythmia, or an irregular ...

~~~~~~~~~~ March 8

Medical Device Oversight Under Scrutiny
Journal of American Medical Association (subscription) - Chicago , IL , USA
... episodes of arrhythmia, while others were subject to a memory error that could affect performance; at least 2 deaths were attributable to defibrillator

~~~~~~~~~~ March 5

Doctors Monitor Patients From Home With New Device
WCCO - Minneapolis,MN,USA
... very clearly how bad she felt before she got a pacemaker/defibrillator implanted for ... re always looking to see if a person's developed an arrhythmia," said Dr ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 25

Gene Test Could Spot Athletes' Cardiac Risk
Forbes - USA
... noted that the presence of the mutations does not predict the risk of fatal arrhythmia or the need for preventive therapy, such as an implanted defibrillator. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 23

Sudden death: Medicine tries to get a grasp on athletes' heart ...
Ithaca Journal - Ithaca,NY,USA
... The most dangerous type is ventricular arrhythmia, which occurs when the heartbeat ... was shocked back to life with a rink-side automatic external defibrillator. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 22

Genetic Roots of Rare but Often Fatal Heart Condition in Young ...
Newswise (press release) - USA
... the mere presence of mutations does not indicate an urgent risk of a fatal arrhythmia or need of preventive therapy, such as implantation of a defibrillator. ...

E-burg woman takes her role in life to heart
Pocono Record - Stroudsburg , PA , USA
... emergency. This is especially helpful for people with spouses with heart issues. The defribrillators work in a case of arrhythmia. People ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 18

Implantable Cardioverter-Defibrillators Expanding Indications and ...
Journal of American Medical Association (subscription) - Chicago,IL,USA
... 1996 to July 2005, using the Medical Subject Heading implantable defibrillator. ... survival in patients with a history of life-threatening ventricular arrhythmia. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 12

When UM golf coach Joanne Steele learned she needed a heart ...
The Missoulian - Missoula , MT , USA
... muscle. Some eventually have to have a defibrillator implanted to shock the heart when it goes into the irregular beat of arrhythmia. ...FG

~~~~~~~~~~ February 7

Defibrillator is mill worker's guardian angel
Texarkana Gazette - Texarkana , TX , USA
... Lionell underwent surgery to get a ICD or an implantable cardioverter defibrillator. ... This irregular heart rhythm called arrhythmia causes the heart to suddenly ...

Cardiac Emergency
Natural Products Industry Insider - Phoenix,AZ,USA
... With this type of arrhythmia, the lower chambers quiver and can not ... for ventricular fibrillation--an electrical shock from a defibrillator that restores ..

~~~~~~~~~~ February 5

SJ resident has high-tech heart
Cherry Hill Courier Post - Cherry Hill , NJ , USA
He has what he calls the "Mercedes Benz" of pacemakers, a unit that includes a defibrillator. ... "I can at any time go into arrhythmia, and that can accelerate my ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 4

WSU women pay visit to UW
Seattle Times - United States
... Her comeback was cut short 15 games into the current season, when her internal heart defibrillator fired to stop a cardiac arrhythmia during UW's Jan. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 3

Engineered Heart Tissue Offers Insights Into Irregular Heartbeats ...
AScribe - USA
... In particular, they sought to understand how such arrhythmia may lead to ventricular fibrillation, in which the heart's electrical activity becomes disordered ...

~~~~~~~~~~ February 1

Medtronic Initiates ''Concerto AT'' Study in United States ...
Finanzen.net - Germany
... the Concerto CRT-D and Virtuoso(TM) implantablecardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), will be ... of medicine and director of the Atrial Arrhythmia Center atthe ...

Italy makes tiny heart-attack gizmo
ANSA - Rome,Italy
Little bigger than a cigarette lighter, the defibrillator is implanted next to ... into action when these rhythms go haywire - a condition known as arrhythmia . ...

Medtronic Initiates ''Concerto AT'' Study in United States ...
Genetic Engineering News - Larchmont , NY , USA
... the Concerto CRT-D and Virtuoso(TM) implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), will be ... professor of medicine and director of the Atrial Arrhythmia Center at ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 18

International Approvals: Ovatio DR, Celution, FloTrac Sensor
Medscape (subscription) - USA
On January 18, a dual-chamber implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD; Ovatio DR , made ... In addition, the ICD's ventricular arrhythmia detection software has ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 28

New Test Identifies Candidates For Cardiac Defibrillator
MedIndia - India
... of the patients are likely to benefit from the implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD). ... current will be delivered through the device if an arrhythmia were to ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 27

Test identifies best candidates for implanted cardiac ...
EurekAlert (press release) - Washington,DC,USA
... most likely to benefit from the device, known as implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD ... If an arrhythmia occurred in a patient who had an ICD, the device would ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 26

Stadium name change denied
Silver Chips Online - Silver Spring , MD , USA
... Hicks Memorial Scholarship Award, died suddenly of cardiac arrhythmia on May 25 ... The Gregory W. Moyer Defibrillator Fund learned about Helgeson's story through ...

PG SOUTH: Basketball notebook
Pittsburgh Post Gazette - Pittsburgh , PA , USA
... He experienced a heart arrhythmia during a Char Valley-Penn Hills playoff game. Penn Hills ' student trainer used a defibrillator to shock Gannon's heart back ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 25

NICE Guidance on Implantable Defibrillators Shows Heart but Needs ...
PR Newswire UK (press release) - London,UK
... at high risk of sudden death and are likely to benefit from a defibrillator. ... cardiologist at Glasgow Royal Infirmary and a trustee of Arrhythmia Alliance, the ...

Nothing worse for an athlete than not playing
Allentown Morning Call - Allentown,PA,USA
... of her sophomore year, Aardewijn was diagnosed with having an arrhythmia (a lot of ... needed to shock my heart into normal rhythm with a defibrillator (like the ...

Atrial Fibrillation Expert Column - First-Line Treatment of AF: Is Radiofrequency Ablation Ready for Prime Time?
Medscape
This review discusses the main issues surrounding different treatment strategies for AF, with special consideration of the risks and benefits of catheter ablation.

The 'EP' Consult - Device Clinic Case 4: Recent Near Syncope in an ICD Patient
Medscape
A patient with a dual-chamber ICD presents for a device check because of a recent episode of near syncope. On the basis of his intracardiac tracings, what is the most likely cause of his near syncope?

Usefulness of Atrial Fibrillation Burden as a Predictor for Success of Pulmonary Vein Isolation
Medscape
The authors assessed the usefulness and predictive accuracy of AF burden within the first 3 months after PV isolation ablation as an early predictor for success as well as reduction of symptoms.

~~~~~~~~~~ January 24

Guidant woes mounting: More device recalls
Boston Herald - United States
... Dr. Jeremy Ruskin, director of Massachusetts General's Cardiac Arrhythmia Service ... Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center 's Pacemaker and Defibrillator Service ...

SPORTS AND HEALTH: The heart of the matter
Detroit Free Press - United States
... The most dangerous type is ventricular arrhythmia, which occurs when the heartbeat ... was shocked back to life with a rink-side automatic external defibrillator. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 21

UW women eye Oregon win
Seattle Times - United States
... senior Nicole Castro teamed up to fill the void left by Burt, who retired after her internal heart defibrillator fired to stop a cardiac arrhythmia during a .

~~~~~~~~~~ January 19

Huskies looking to bounce back after loss to USC, loss of Burt
Seattle Times - United States
... Kayla Burt, who was shocked by an internal defibrillator during Thursday's ... retirement from competitive basketball because of the threat of cardiac arrhythmia. ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 18

UW Women Travel To Oregon State, Oregon
GoHuskies.com - Seattle,WA,USA
... Thursday night and undergoing a variety of tests through Friday, it was determined that the defibrillator shocked Burt's heart due to an arrhythmia and was not ...

Sorin Group Launches World's Smallest Implantable Cardioverter ...
Canada NewsWire (press release) - Canada
... An implantable cardioverter-defibrillator is designed to quickly detect a life ... innovative features dedicated both to pacing and arrhythmia management and ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 17

No regrets for Burt
Bothell Herald - WA, United States
... When it was determined that the defibrillator acted as intended and that there was no ... that it did not have time to fill up with blood, causing an arrhythmia. ...

Many nursing homes lack device to restart heart
Toledo Blade - Toledo,OH,USA
... is erratic -- in medical terms, suffering from "arrhythmia" -- which is ... his organization is "definitely discussing" placing a defibrillator in the ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 13

Surgery Treatment Of Heart Arrhythmias
WSOCtv.com - Charlotte , NC , USA
... may require implantation of a cardioverter defibrillator (a device which monitors heart rhythm and provides an electric shock when an arrhythmia is detected to ..

~~~~~~~~~~ January 12

Medication Helps Prevent Defibrillator Shocks
Ivanhoe - Winter Park,FL,USA
... New research reveals the combination of the drug amiodarone and a beta-blocker can prevent shocks from an implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD). ...

~~~~~~~~~~ January 1

'Drugs could reduce defibrillator pain' (11.01.06)
Age Concern England - London , UK
... which reduces abnormal heartbeats - in addition to standard beta-blockers, while others received sotalol, another anti-arrhythmia drug. ... "A defibrillator is a ...

Scar tissue in heart predicts risk of fatal arrhythmias
Xagena.it - Italy
... to determine if a patient requires a defibrillator. In this test, a thin catheter is inserted into the heart to try to induce an arrhythmia, something that ...

~~~~~~~~~~ December 29

Guidant Warns of More Heart Device Failures, Deaths
Inside INdiana Business (press release) - Indianapolis,IN,USA
... s PRIZM® 2 and CONTAK RENEWAL® implantable cardioverter defibrillator (ICD) devices ... an inability to deliver the required shock during episodes of arrhythmia. ...