Implant May Help Moderate Heart Failure

Implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) are used to help people with advanced heart failure. But new research suggests that they may also help those with moderate heart failure live longer. Moderate heart failure is defined as having ejection fractions of between 30% and 35%. An ejection fraction is the percent of blood the heart can pump out of its main chamber with each heartbeat. Ejection fractions below 30% indicate advanced heart failure. Researchers looked at 2 groups over the course of 3 years. The first group, of 3,120 people, had moderate heart failure. The second group, of 4,578 people, had advanced heart failure. In each group, researchers compared survival rates between those who had an ICD and those who did not. For those with an ICD, survival rates improved in both groups. The Journal of the American Medical Association published the study.