Defibrillator Can Extend Life in Heart Failure

Devices to shock the heart back to normal rhythm save lives among elderly people with heart failure, a study concludes. The study looked at results among people ages 65 to 85 with one type of heart failure. This condition put them at risk of a heart rhythm problem that could make the heart stop. The study included 4,685 people discharged from hospitals with heart failure. Only 8% of those eligible received an implantable defibrillator to correct dangerous heart rhythms. All of the people were treated with medicines. After three years, 38.1% of patients with a defibrillator had died. But 52.3% of those without the devices died. Dow Jones newswire wrote about the study. It appeared December 15 in the journal Circulation: Heart Failure.