I do not consider myself a right-wing healthcare fear-monger. But if I were, this study would be worthy of amplification. As reported concisely in the NY Times, from the journal Demography (not previously known to me), population researchers reported that even though elderly Americans have more medical problems than their peers in Britain, once they […]
Category: ICD/Pacemaker
Cardiac devices are battery powered. Like your TV remote, they require change–every 5-10 years or so. No worries…”it’s just a generator change” is a phrase one hears frequently in the cath lab. They are supposed to be easy cases. But they are not always. And here is more recent evidence that the simple pacemaker/defibrillator replacement […]
The case involved a 70 year-old man with an eight year-old medical device. He suffered the abrupt onset of chest pain and shortness of breath. His ECG is here: Click to enlarge The Answer: First, the ‘medical device’ is an eight year-old Medtronic dual chamber pacemaker. Second, as was correctly stated, the ECG shows a […]
I hear it every day. The pattern is so repetitive. “I am so fatigued. I just wear out so easily. At the end the day, I am done.” The spouse may often add, “he is so short-winded, even little things.” Doc, I thought it was just my age, or stress, or that I am not […]
The heart of a woman may be much different than that of a man. The “Go Red” campaign would surely agree. As would most masters of the obvious. But in the case of whether female hearts garner the same benefit from a prophylactic implantable defibrillator (ICD), women may be much different than men. As published […]
Categories
Double counting…
The implantable cardiac defibrillator (ICD) is a life saving therapy. But, like any medical treatment there are potential adverse effects. With ICDs, we are trying to prevent this…(a slide from the 1980s) But in doing so we sometimes get this… Which is supposed to look like this…(same patient–hours later, with no intervention) ICDs have been […]
“Hey John, I hear there is a new ICD out…without any wires,” came the question in the doctor’s lounge. That’s cool, they are reading the NEJM, I thought. It is true that a very preliminary report on a subcutaneous-only ICD was published in the print version of the NEJM this week. The print version of anything […]
The implantable defibrillator (ICD) is an amazing life-saving device. Â When used in the appropriate patient, the scientific data supporting its benefit is rock solid. The sudden death-averting appropriate ICD shock in the middle of the night, allows the patient to enjoy breakfast with his spouse, rather than admission to the morgue. ICD function seems simple: […]
Today was one of those days where you are hopelessly behind schedule, always thinking 3 tasks ahead, and wondering when the finish line will appear. After bemoaning the misuse of ICDs yesterday, today I found two pretty sweet examples of how implantable titanium and silicone can enhance and extend the lives of real patients. The […]
At the risk of exposing my naivete, or being too much like the geeky student who sits in the front of the classroom, I can’t help but welcome the upcoming policing of cardiac device implants. As recently written by Dr Wes, government policing agencies, the DOJ and RAC folks, are planning to focus on […]
Categories
ICDs are not insurance policies…
Although this study did not make headlines, its findings jumped off the page of the 566 page supplement listing all of HeartRhythm 2010’s abstracts. The presentation, from a Harvard group, revealed more sobering news on the risks of ICD implantation. Enlightenment on ICD complications was hidden away in this study that primarily looked at something […]