Implanted Defibrillator Might Extend Life

Older people with heart failure are much less likely to die when they receive an implantable cardioverter defibrillator, says a new study published in Circulation: Heart Failure.

The study included 4,685 people, aged 65 to 85, who were eligible for the device and had a left ventricular fraction (a measure of the heart's pumping ability) of 35% or less.

During a three-year period, those who were treated with standard medication and an implanted defibrillator (ICD) were less likely to die than those treated with medications alone, the study found.

"In the first year, only 19.8% of the patients with an ICD died compared to 27.6% without an ICD," study coauthor Gregg C. Fonarow, MD, a professor of cardiovascular medicine at the UCLA Medical Center, said in a news release from the American Heart Association.

"By three years, 38.1% of patients with an ICD had died compared to 52.3% of those without an ICD," Fonarow said. "Overall, patients receiving an ICD were 29% less likely to die in the first three years."

The findings show that age alone shouldn't exclude people who are otherwise eligible to receive an implantable defibrillator, Fonarow said. "There are substantial opportunities for clinicians to improve the evaluation and treatment of patients hospitalized with heart failure and reduced left ventricular ejection fraction."

— Source: American Heart Association