Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Recycle, reduce, reuse: Americans’ heart devices reimplanted safely in India, from MedCity News

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - U.S. patients' used heart devices can be safely implanted in seriously ill heart disease patients in the developing world, a study out Monday suggests.

"These devices did work well. They delivered appropriate shocks and saved lives," said lead researcher Dr. Behzad B. Pavri, of Thomas Jefferson University Hospital in Philadelphia.
The devices, known as implantable cardioverter defibrillators (ICDs), automatically deliver potentially life-saving electrical shocks to the heart in people at high risk of cardiac arrest. But in the developing world, few people have the money to afford the cost - about $5,000 in the U.S. for pacemakers, and four times that for ICDs.

A few studies have already shown that it's possible to reuse pacemakers, devices that use electrical pulses to the heart to keep a normal heartbeat.

for complete article: Recycle, reduce, reuse: Americans’ heart devices reimplanted safely in India

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