Implantable
Defibrillator Offers an Improved Quality of Life
Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) help heart
disease patients live longer, lead more active lives, and enjoy a quality of
life comparable to that of average Americans, according to a study in the journal Pacing
and Clinical Electrophysiology.
The study also concludes that patients with ICDs - electronic
monitoring devices that deliver a lifesaving shock to the heart in the event
of cardiac arrest - have a high level of satisfaction with the units.
This finding offsets longstanding perceptions that ICDs
extend, but seriously impair, patients' lives.
Patients should be optimistic about returning to normal
life after an ICD is implanted, says study author Dr. Peter Groeneveld, assistant
professor of general internal medicine, University of Pennsylvania School of
Medicine.
The use of ICDs
has rapidly increased in recent years, particularly since Medicare and other
health payers expanded coverage of the device for
primary prevention. "Primary prevention" refers to those who have no prior
history of abnormal heart rhythms but whose heart disease may increase their
risk of sudden cardiac death.
Nearly 50,000 implants were performed in 2005 in the US
alone, making it among the most common cardiovascular device used in contemporary
clinical practice.
In the new study, researchers found that patients reported
high levels of emotional, physical, and functional well-being and said they
were satisfied and able to adapt to living with the ICD.
In addition, the study revealed that driving, lifting heavy
objects, and sexual activity were the most common lifestyle concerns among
ICD patients. The researchers say that physicians should discuss these issues
with patients.
The researchers
say their study is the first to look at quality of life and cost in "primary prevention" ICD
patients.
"While the lifesaving benefits of ICDs have been well documented
over the last decade, little was known about the experience of patients in
the real world, post implantation," says Dr. Groeneveld.
"This study looked at a population that better represents
current device recipients, which, in turn, means that physicians can now communicate
a more accurate description of life with the device to patients," says Dr.
Groeneveld.
According to Dr. Groeneveld, the quality of life benefits
emerge from advances in ICD technology over the last decade resulting in smaller,
more easily programmed devices which can more accurately respond to the needs
of the individual patient.
"With an estimated one million Americans eligible for implantation
today, it is extremely important to verify that ICDs deliver value on par with
the health care dollars expended in most heart patients, even among the elderly," he
says.
Always consult your physician for more information.
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