PHILADELPHIA -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania's
School of Medicine have discovered that implantable
cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) -- electric monitoring
devices that deliver a lifesaving shock in the event of a
cardiac arrest -- help patients with heart problems live longer
more active lives. Further, the study found most patients living
with ICDs enjoy a quality of life consistent with average
Americans their age and have a high level of satisfaction with
the device, offsetting longstanding perceptions that the
technology extends but seriously impairs patients lives. Peter
Groeneveld, M.D., M.S., Assistant Professor of General Internal
Medicine and his co-authors report their findings in the April
2007 issue of the journal Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology.
The study is the first to analyze quality of life and cost in
"primary prevention" ICD patients, that is patients with no
prior history of abnormal heart rhythms, but whose heart disease
may increase their risk of sudden cardiac d