Malfunction! ICDs vs. Pacemakers
Reported April 26, 2006
(Ivanhoe Newswire) — Pacemakers and cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) save lives and have low malfunction rates. Despite this, researchers from the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Harvard Medical School in Boston found ICDs have a significantly higher malfunction rate than pacemakers.
Researchers analyzed FDA reports from 1990 to 2002 to determine the reported number, rate and reasons for pacemaker and ICD malfunctions and to assess trends in their performance.
They found from 1990 to 2002, 2.5 million pacemakers and 415,780 ICDs were implanted in the United States. During this period, 17,323 devices were explanted (8,834 pacemakers and 8,489 ICDs) due to confirmed malfunction.
William H. Maisel, M.D., one of the lead authors writes that because ICDs are more sophisticated than pacemakers, it is not surprising that they have a higher device malfunction replacement rate. Researchers conclude, “Routine device checks at regular intervals remains the best way for physicians to monitor on going device performance in individual patients.”
They add, “Despite the newly recognized increase in ICD malfunction replacement rate, ICDs effectively reduce mortality in specific high-risk populations. These devices have prevented sudden deaths and they remain an important therapy for those with a high-risk of sudden cardiac arrest.”
SOURCE: The Journal of the American Medical Association, 2006;295:1901-1906