This Article  • Full text  • PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Topic Collections  • Pacemakers/ Defibrillators  • Cardiovascular System  • Prognosis/ Outcomes  • Arrhythmias  • Cardiovascular Disease/ Myocardial Infarction  • Cardiovascular Intervention  • Alert me on articles by topic  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Mike Mitka

JAMA. 2009;302(2):134-135.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

Preliminary data from a "real-world" study appear to confirm the lifesaving benefit of implantable cardioverter-defibrillators (ICDs) and defibrillating cardiac resynchronization therapy devices (CRT-Ds) for primary prevention of sudden heart failure. Moreover, these tools may perform even better than previously thought.

Lifesaving implantable cardioverter-defibrillators may perform better than previously thought, new research suggests. (Photo credit: Bruce L. Wilkoff, MD/Cleveland Clinic)

Researchers with the ALTITUDE trial said their observational study of 47 032 patients with ICDs and 38 967 patients with CRT-Ds documented 3-year survival rates of 96% and 89%, respectively—levels that exceed those reported from earlier pivotal studies. Five-year survival rates in ALTITUDE were 92% for patients with ICDs and 78% for those with CRT-Ds. The researchers presented their data on May 14 during the scientific sessions of the Heart Rhythm Society held in Boston. The trial was funded by Boston Scientific Corp, Natick, Mass, which manufactures such devices.

The researchers . . . [Full Text of this Article]

ECONOMIC CONCERNS



CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?