Defibrillation News and Research

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Lay people can effectively use defibrillators to save the lives of cardiac arrest victims

The first large-scale study to see whether trained volunteers and lay people can use defibrillators to save the lives of cardiac arrest (CA) victims has concluded that their use by lay people is safe, and if the response time can be shortened to within eight minutes there is the potential to save the lives of 15 out of 100 people who collapse suddenly with CA.

5 Dec 2005

Faulty defibrillators may mean surgery for thousands of cardiac patients

Surgery to replace possibly faulty implanted cardiac defibrillators may now be on the cards for thousands of cardiac patients.

20 Jun 2005

Implanted devices are giving cardiologists a new view of subtle changes in a key measurement of heart health

Implanted devices intended to optimize the cardiac function of patients with heart failure have provided new insights into which patients might be at higher risk of dying suddenly from their disease, according to researchers at Duke University Medical Center.

7 Mar 2005

CPR often does not meet or adhere to standard guidelines

New research indicates that CPR performed outside the hospital and in the hospital often does not meet or adhere to standard guidelines, according to 2 studies in the January 19 issue of JAMA.

19 Jan 2005

Home defibrillators now being sold on Amazon.com

Royal Philips Electronics has announced that the Philips HeartStart Home Defibrillator is now available over-the-counter (OTC) to consumers at Amazon.com, the largest online retailer to offer the product.

22 Oct 2004

Mild pulses of electrical energy just as effective as more powerful and painful shocks to interrupt life-threatening rapid heartbeats

Ventricular tachycardia (VT) is a fast heartbeat originating in the heart’s ventricle chamber and can be life-threatening. VT is often treated with an implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD), a device that delivers an electrical shock to restore an irregular heart rhythm.

22 Oct 2004

Successful resuscitation rates doubled after upgrade to automated external defibrillators

Successful resuscitation rates more than doubled after the Atlanta VA Medical Center instituted a program of upgrading existing defibrillators and placing automated external defibrillators (AEDs) throughout the hospital, while also educating staff, according to a new study in the Aug. 18, 2004 issue of the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.

18 Aug 2004

CPR and rapid defibrillation is best for cardiac arrest outside of a hospital

Research published in the New England Journal of Medicine suggests that pre-hospital advanced life support training does not increase the survival rate for people who experience a cardiac arrest outside of a hospital. On the other hand, bystander CardioPulmonary Resuscitation and rapid defibrillation programs are crucial interventions that can significantly impact survival rates.

12 Aug 2004

Pacemakers and defibrillators can be safe for use in magnetic resonance imaging machines

In animal and laboratory studies, scientists at Johns Hopkins have shown that modern, implanted heart assist devices - such as pacemakers and defibrillators - can be safe for use in magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) machines

3 Aug 2004

FDA panel to review results of Guidant's heart failure trial

Guidant Corporation has announced that the Circulatory System Devices Panel of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) will review Guidant’s submission to expand user labeling, including indications, for its cardiac resynchronization therapy defibrillators

17 Jun 2004

CRT devices used in combination with optimized pharmacologic therapy (OPT) significantly impact patient's quality and length of life

UI Heart Care researchers are among the first in the nation to evaluate the effectiveness of cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) devices to reduce the risk of mortality and hospitalization in advanced heart failure patients.

25 May 2004

Heart failure is a leading cause of death and nearly 5 million people in the United States suffer from it

“Heart failure is a leading cause of death and nearly 5 million people in the United States suffer from it,” says Mariell Jessup, MD, Professor of Medicine and Medical Director of the Heart Failure and Transplantation Program at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania (HUP).

24 May 2004

Pacemaker-type device and medicines reduce hospital stays and death rates

A nationwide clinical trial of more than 1,600 heart failure patients showed that when medicines are combined with the use of a pacemaker-type device that resynchronizes both sides of the heart, hospital stays and death rates drop significantly.

20 May 2004

CRT implantable defibrillators significantly reduce hospitalization rates and extend lives

Researchers at the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center have announced the findings of a large-scale clinical trial for patients with late-stage heart failure. Results showed that cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT) from implantable pacemaker-like devices or CRT combined with an implantable defibrillator (CRT-D), when used in addition to optimal drug therapy, reduced significantly the mortality and first hospitalization rate when compared to drug therapy alone. CRT-D also substantially lowered mortality.

19 May 2004