Current criteria for implantation of pacemakers fail to accurately identify which patients will or will not receive benefit, recent research shows. This study, published in Pacing and Clinical Electrophysiology (PACE) looked at information derived from a standard electrocardiogram (EKG) to examine factors associated with response or non-response. On average, patients with previous heart attacks did not respond as well to this therapy as patients without previous heart attacks.

This research should impact the way patients are selected for cardiac resynchronization therapy, or pacemaker implantation, and also suggests a need for more research in this area.

At least 33% of patients with congestive heart failure who are treated with specialized pacemakers a costly and invasive treatment to electrically resynchronize their hearts fail to respond.

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Contact: Sharon Agsalda
medicalnews@bos.blackwellpublishing.net
1-781-388-8507
Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
31-Jan-2005

Page: 1
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